Box Score MURFREESBORO, NC- The Chowan University volleyball team earned a 3-1 victory over nonconference opponent Claflin University on Sunday afternoon.  After dropping a 3-1 decision to the Lady Panthers last week, Chowan came out on top to defend their home court in the final home match of the regular season.  The Hawks improve to 15-6 overall while the Lady Panthers slip to 14-16 on the season with the loss. 
 
Suraya Chase led all players in the match with 19 kills on the afternoon.  Brianna Smith notched 12 kills in the victory for the Hawks.  Allison Smith and Kelsey Schlake tallied 26 and 17 assists respectively, while Cindy Ehrich hauled in 19 digs.  Brianna Smith collected 18 digs of her own for a  double-double- effort.   
 
A trio of Lady Panthers collected double digit kills in the loss.  Chiquita Rivers had a team-high 12 kills with Chelcey Foster and Keyarah Turner each turning in 10 kills.  Calleen Hawkins had 36 assists in the match and 10 digs.
 
 The Lady Panthers jumped out a 5-1 lead in the first sent before a kill by Chase sparked a 5-0 run to give the Hawks a 6-5 advantage.  The Hawks maintained the lead until kills from Bria Bronston and Rivers pushed the Lady Panthers ahead 15-13.  The Hawks rattled off six straight points, five off of Lauren East's serves to regain an 18-15 advantage.  Chowan held on the momentum through the remainder of the set, and secured the 25-21 victory with a kill from Nikira Fults and a Lady Panther attack error. 
 
Claflin fought back in the second set.  After grabbing an early 3-0 lead, the Lady Panthers held a narrow lead over the Hawks until midway through the set.  With the score knotted 14-14, a kill from Rivers led to six straight points for Claflin.  The Hawks fought back to pull within two points thanks to a Lady Panther error and kills from Schlake and Chase, but dropped the second set 25-18. 
 
Chowan came back with a vengeance in the third set.  With a 4-2 lead, a kill by East resulted in the Hawks grabbing the next six straight points and a 10-2 advantage.  The Hawks continued to build on the momentum and closed out the set with five straight points to confirm the 25-15 third set victory.
 
In the fourth set, Chowan earned a quick 7-1 lead off serves from Ehrich.  The Lady Panthers pulled within four with the score 9-5, but a kill by Chase led to five straight points for Chowan and a 14-5 advantage.  Claflin refused to go down easily as they pulled within striking distance late in the set.  With Chowan leading 24-17, Claflin strung together six straight points to pull within a mere point of the Hawks.  A kill by Brianna Smith resulted in the 25-23 set victory for Chowan. 
 
The Hawks travel to Petersburg, VA on Monday to take on Virginia State University.  The CIAA Northern Division match-up is slated for 6:00pm.