PETERSBURG, VA – The Chowan University volleyball team will play its final match of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) regular season tonight in Richmond against Virginia Union, but the Hawks have already clinched their eighth overall and fourth consecutive CIAA Northern Division Title.

Chowan did it when they picked up a straight set victory over Virginia State Monday evening here on the road, 25-23, 25-20, and 25-23.

The Hawks raised their record to 14-11 on the season, 12-3 in the CIAA, and a perfect 9-0 in the division.

Makayla Castro notched a double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs while Milica Vejnovic tallied eight kills and 16 digs.  Kayla Gates chipped in with seven kills and Bailey Zavala paced the defense with 23 digs.

The Trojans offense produced 23 attack errors to aid in the Chowan victory.

Both teams jockeyed for the lead in the early going of the match with the score tied until back-to-back Trojan errors handed the lead to the Hawks for the first time, 16-15.

The lead would change hands for a few points until Brittany Tschida and Karisa Patterson teamed up for a block handing the lead back to the Hawks. Patterson later notched a kill to make it 24-21 before the Trojans ended the first set for the Hawks with an attack error.

Chowan jumped out to an early 12-2 lead in the second set forcing VSU to call both timeouts during the run. Four straight miscues aided the Trojans in the set to cut their deficit to 16-11.  VSU would close the gap further before a service error handed the Hawks the second set, 25-20.

In a back-and-forth set, the score was tied multiple times with either team grabbing more than a two point lead. The Trojans fought back to knot the match at 21, 22, and 23-all before three straight errors ended the set and match.

Chowan finishes the regular season tonight (Thursday) against Virginia Union in Richmond.