HAMPTON, VA – And then there were two…after two days of rigorous play at the 2012 CIAA Volleyball Championships eight title hungry teams have been dwindled down to two. Chowan University and Fayetteville State have risen above all competition and arrived at the 2012 CIAA Championship match after taking wins in semi-final action on Saturday.

The table is set for one more exciting match this weekend: the championship. The match up will feature the North Division Regular Season Champions, Chowan University, and the South Division Championship, Fayetteville State University. 

Chowan University breezed through their pool play, winning nine straight sets, on Friday to advance to the first semi-final match on Saturday. They picked up straight set wins over Saint Augustine's University, Elizabeth City State University, and Livingstone College setting them up to face off against Winston-Salem State University in the first semi-final match on Saturday. The Lady Rams came to play, giving Chowan two quick punches and a 2-0 early match lead. WSSU took advantage of eight attack errors by Chowan to take the first set of the match 25-21. They rolled that momentum into the second set and combined for 16 team kills to take the second set 25-23. The Lady Rams had the two-time Champions on the ropes heading into the third set, but the Hawks gritted out a 25-15 third set win behind 15 team kills.

The Hawks, led by seniors Karina Monroe and Callie Armistead, commanded the fourth set to a 25-19 win to knot the match at 2-2 and force a deciding match game.

Both teams exchanged points until the Lady Rams took a 7-5 edge over Chowan. Saavy serving by Armistead and Monica Ruffin and solid back row play put the Hawks back in contention with a 9-7 lead. Monroe came up with back to back key kills to swing the momentum to Chowan's side and ultimately take the final set 15-10 and the match 3-2.

Monroe led all attackers in the match with 18 kills. Nikki Fults posted 15 kills while teammates Monica Ruffin and Brianna Smith each had 11 kills. Smith also had 32 digs while Ruffin collected four service aces. Armistead had 49 assists and 12 digs in the win. 

The Hawks are two-time CIAA Champions after winning back-to-back titles their first two years in the league (2010, 2011). 
The 2012 CIAA Championship will be played at 1:00pm on Sunday, November 18^th at the Boo Williams SportsPlex in Hampton, Virginia. The Lady Broncos will be seeking their fourth CIAA Championship Title on Sunday. Their last title came in 2007