HAMPTON, VA - The volleyball team wrapped up the regular season with the #1 seed coming out of the CIAA Western Division after turning in a 24-8 overall and 14-1 CIAA record.  The Hawks had to top Fayetteville State and Saint Augustine's in their final two regular season matches to claim the top divisional seed. The CIAA released the 2009 Volleyball Championships pairings this afternoon and the Hawks will travel at the end of the week just over an hour North to play in their first-ever CIAA Volleyball Championship in Hampton, Virginia.

The CIAA will sponosor an awards luncheon on Thursday, November 5th to open the championships. The luncheon will honor the All-CIAA teams for this season and will be held at  the Newport News Marriot at City Center. After a practice session at the Boo Williams SportPlex Thursday night, the Hawks will begin Pool play on Friday morning.

The league's top eight teams made it to the championship tournament. Elizabeth City State University earned the top seed out of the Eastern Division. Chowan opens up play with the #4 team from the East, Virginia Union University on Friday, November 6th, at 11:00am. They will play #3 Saint Augustine's at 3:00pm and #2 from the East, Virginia State University on Friday at 7:00pm. 

After Friday's Pool play, the top two teams from each pool advance to the Semi-Finals on Saturday. Those matches will be played at 5:00pm and 7:00pm. The CIAA is sponsoring a free volleyball clinic on Saturday from 1:00-3:00pm followed by a workshop for aspiring college athletes on NCAA Eligibility. 

The championship match will be played on Sunday, November 8th at 1:00pm. All matches are held at the Boo Williams SportPlex in Hampton (5 Armistead Pointe Parkway). 

For more information on the CIAA Volleyball Championships, log on to the league's website @ www.theciaa.com.