Loss To Chowan Ends Season For Lady Falcons

RALEIGH, NC (Nov 18) – On Friday, Saint Augustine's University gave Chowan University a brief scare, but the Hawks triumphed over the Lady Falcons in three sets in the CIAA Volleyball Tournament quarterfinals at the VSU Multipurpose Center in Ettrick, Va.

The 25-27, 16-25, 15-25 loss ended the season for the Lady Falcons (9-14 overall) while the Hawks (22-9) advanced to Saturday's semifinals. The Lady Falcons were the No. 4 Southern Division seed entering the tournament.

All-CIAA hitter Shakera Hall (So./Bridgetown, Barbados) continued her stellar play this season. She finished with 14 kills and 12 digs for the Lady Falcons, who also received six kills and 13 digs from Olivia Porter (Sr./Bakersfield, CA). Meghan Mahon (Sr./Houston, TX) totaled 17 assists and Zoey Isom (So./Phoenix, AZ) recorded 23 digs.

The Lady Falcons stunned the Northern Division champs early by taking a 22-18 lead in the first set. The Hawks surged ahead 25-24 but a kill by Hall tied the score. The Hawks scored the last two points to win the set 27-25.

The first-set defeat sapped the energy out of the Lady Falcons, who lost the second and third sets by nine and 10 points, respectively.

CIAA Player of the Year Suraya Chase led the Hawks with 16 kills and 11 digs. Morgan Spencer added eight kills and Karisa Patterson had 16 assists and seven digs while Bailey Zavala contributed 21 digs.

The loss concluded the college careers of Porter and Mahon. A two-time All-CIAA selection, Porter finished her career with 981 kills and 790 digs. Mahon earned All-CIAA honors this season and entered the tournament leading the league in total assists.