RICHMOND, VA. – The Chowan Volleyball team saw their 26 match CIAA Northern Division match win streak come to a close as Virginia Union picked up their first ever win against the Hawks, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 2, Virginia Union 3

RECORDS | Chowan 8-12 (8-5, 5-1), Virginia Union 8-12 (7-4, 4-1)

LOCATION | Richmond, Va. (Barco-Stevens Hall)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Five Hawks posted double figure kills in the contest led by Courtney O'Keefe with 15 kills.

Breona Young (13), Milica Vejnovic (11), Kayla Gates (10), and Sydney Hiner (10) tallied double figures.

Micayla Pope, Sydney Hiner, and Kayla Gates posted double-doubles as Pope registered 51 assists and 11 digs.  Hiner added a career-high 21 digs to her 10 kills, while Gates tallied 13 digs with her 10 kills.

Alyssa Born notched 29 digs to pace the defense.

Chowan sits in a tie for first place in the CIAA Northern Division with Virginia Union with one loss each.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Set:

Micayla Pope started off the match with three straight service aces.  A kill by Courtney O'Keefe and a block by Kayla Gates and Breona Young put the Hawks ahead 7-4.

Chowan would maintain a slim lead until four straight points by the Hawks allowed CU to lead 15-11.  Milica Vejnovic started the run with a kill followed by a kill by Kayla Gates and a service ace by Meghan Mutter.

The Hawks pushed the lead to 21-15 as three attack errors provided the offense.  Four straight points by the Panthers closed the gap to 21-19.

VUU rallied to even the match at 22-all and forced a timeout.  Courtney O'Keefe notched a kill out of the timeout, but the Panthers found the final three points to take the set 25-23.

Second Set:

VUU led 6-3 early in the set as Sydney Hiner, Micayla Pope and Breona Young registered kills.  Chowan would take the lead 9-8 on a kill by Courtney O'Keefe after a kill by Milica Vejnovic and a service ace by Meghan Mutter.

Chowan would hold the lead as both teams swapped points late in the set.  The score would even out at 24-all but a kill by Milica Vejnovic ended the set for the Hawks 26-24 to tie the match at one aside.

Third Set:

Both teams continued to battle back-and-forth until Courtney O'Keefe and Kayla Gates gave the Hawks a 7-6 lead.

Trailing 16-15, Sydney Hiner registered a kill coupled with two errors by the Panthers allowed the Hawks to lead 18-16.

A kill by Breona Young and a service ace by Micayla Pope forced a VUU timeout leading 21-17.  The timeout slowed the momentum as the Panthers roared back to trail 21-20.  A kill by Kayla Gates forced the final timeout, 23-20.

VUU rallied once again to even the score at 24 and 26-all.  Courtney O'Keefe finished the set with a kill to lead 2-1 with the 28-26 set win.

Fourth Set:

Chowan led 7-3 early in the set as Sydney Hiner served up an ace and Milica Vejnovic, Kayla Gates and Micayla Pope tallied a kill.  The Hawks pushed the lead to 10-5 with a kill by Vejnovic.

The Panthers chipped away at the deficit before taking the lead 15-14.  The lead would swell to 21-14 on four errors by the Hawks.

Chowan closed the gap to 22-20 and 23-21 as Sydney Hiner and Courtney O'Keefe tallied two kills each.  VUU took the set 25-21 to force the decisive fifth set.

Fifth Set:

Sydney Hiner registered a kill and a service ace to lead 3-2 early.  Milica Vejnovic tallied two kills as the score evened up at 6-all.

The score would remain tied at 9-all until three blocks by the Panthers took hold of the set and match to score the last six points in the set, 15-9.

UP NEXT

Chowan hosts non-conference opponent, Mount Olive, on Tuesday, October 16.  This match is the annual "Dig Pink" match.  First serve is scheduled for 6pm.