Box Score RALEIGH, N.C. –
Olivia Porter (So./Bakersfield, CA) registered a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs as Saint Augustine's University celebrated Senior Night with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-17) CIAA volleyball victory over Shaw University at Emery Gymnasium on Friday, November 7, 2014. With the win, the Lady Falcons qualified for the CIAA Tournament next week.
Danyelle Noland (Fr./Nashville, NC) added nine kills for the Lady Falcons, who will enter the league tournament as the No. 4 Southern Division seed. Eight teams – the top four squads in the Northern and Southern Divisions – advanced to the tournament.
Both the Lady Falcons and Livingstone College ended the regular season tied for fourth place at 4-6, but the Lady Falcons hold the tiebreaker edge. They split their season series, but the Lady Falcons won in fewer sets. The Lady Falcons (7-9 CIAA) also boast a better conference record than Livingstone (6-10 CIAA).
The Lady Falcons will face Chowan University, the Northern Division top seed, in a noon quarterfinal match at Capel Arena in Fayetteville, N.C. on Friday, November 14. They made the tournament with a roster including six freshmen and two sophomores.
"This is a big accomplishment," said SAU Head Coach
Nikki Bynum Bumpass, whose Lady Falcons are 9-17 overall. "We endured through a tough season. We have a young squad but they received great leadership from my captains – Olivia and Juliseea [Thomas]. We dedicated the season to our angels Ronald [Cunningham] and Matthew [Mangram]."
It was a veteran student-athlete, however, who was recognized before the match.
Chelsea Farrior (Sr./Tampa, FL) was honored as the lone senior on Senior Day. A libero player her first two years, Farrior was a valuable student assistant coach on the bench this season.
The match started after the ceremony, and the Lady Falcons wasted little time against their archrival in the first set. Led by three kills from Noland, the Lady Falcons easily took a 1-0 lead. The second set was much more competitive but the Lady Falcons prevailed by two points, thanks to five kills from Porter and four kills from Noland. Porter helped the Lady Falcons finish off Shaw with five kills in the third set.
Thomas added 19 assists and eight digs for the Lady Falcons.
Marley Parker (Fr./Langley, British Columbia) had nine digs while
Meghan Mahon (So./Houston, TX) had seven assists and six digs. Porter and Parker both chipped in four service aces and Noland added three service aces.
Mikayla Pettyjohn (Fr./Jamestown, NC) tallied three total blocks. For the Lady Bears (1-19 overall), Ladazia Burris collected 10 kills and Courtnie Cook had 25 assists.
