MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Chowan Volleyball team was unable to grind out the victory as the Hawks ran out of gas in the decisive fifth set against North Greenville in Conference Carolinas action on Friday evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 2, North Greenville 3
RECORDS | Chowan 2-5 (0-1), North Greenville 6-7 (1-0)
LOCATION | Murfreesboro, N.C. (Helms Center)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Ann-Marie Johnson paced the Hawks with a career-high 16 kills. Johnson added five solo blocks and two assisted blocks on the evening.
Ciara Ortega notched a double-double with 37 assists and 14 digs. Sydney Hiner nearly posted a double-double with nine kills and 18 digs. Katie Houston recorded a team-high 23 digs. Hiner also tallied five service aces.
Chowan hit in the negatives in the first and fifth sets.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set:
Chowan came out the gates slow as North Greenville led 12-2. Chloe Putnam posted the lone kill.
Ann-Marie Johnson started her attack in the match with a kill and Alyssa Carroll posted a service ace to cut the deficit to 12-4. Johnson added another kill to slow the NGU assault trailing 16-6.
Sydney Hiner posted a kill as the Crusaders opened up the set with a 22-8 advantage. Chowan would make a late rally as Chloe Putnam and Alyssa Carroll recorded a block. Ann-Marie Johnson posted a kill and teamed up with Carroll for a block. Katie Houston posted a service ace before NGU recorded the final three points in the set.
Second Set:
Chowan went on the attack in the second set starting off with three straight points. Chloe Putnam would post a kill as the Hawks used the NGU miscues. Ann-Marie Johnson gave the Hawks an 8-3 lead with a kill.
The Crusaders rallied back to cut the deficit to one, 8-7, and later took the lead 13-11. Both teams battled back-and-forth with rallies as a block by Ann-Marie Johnson and Alyssa Carroll gave the Hawks a slight edge, 16-15.
After being tied at 17-all, Chowan rattled off five straight points to take a 22-17 lead behind three blocks by Ann-Marie Johnson. Anixa Rosa-Martinez finished off the set with a pair of kills.
Third Set:
NGU responded in the set with a 6-2 lead to start. The Hawks would even the set at 6-all as Sydney Hiner notched an ace and Ann-Marie Johnson posted a block and a kill.
Following a timeout, the Crusaders would double up the Hawks, 12-6, to force a Chowan timeout.
Chowan would benefit from errors by NGU, but fell behind 17-10. A kill by Sydney Hiner and two by Ann-Marie Johnson closed the gap to 17-15.
The Hawks would rally back to trim the deficit to one, 23-22, as Ann-Marie Johnson posted a kill and a service ace. Anixa Rosa-Martinez posted a kill during the run as well.
NGU would find the final two points in the set to take a 2-1 lead.
Fourth Set:
The Hawks led 8-4 early in the set aided by NGU miscues and kills by Chloe Putnam, Ann-Marie Johnson, and Anixa Rosa-Martinez.
Chowan's lead would increase to 14-10 with a kill by Hannah Sladick and Sydney Hiner. NGU would not go away quietly taking the lead 17-16 and forcing a timeout.
Out of the timeout, Chowan would regain the lead on a block by Anixa Rosa-Martinez and Chloe Putnam. A kill by Hannah Sladick forced a NGU timeout. The lead would increase to 22-17 and again to 24-19.
NGU would respond with five straight points on three errors by the Hawks. Chloe Putnam registered a kill by NGU's errant attempt would give the Hawks the 26-24 set and force a fifth set.
Fifth Set:
The Crusaders would gain a substantial lead in the set, 11-1, as six errors helped NGU. Hannah Sladick and Ann-Marie Johnson registered a kill in the set. Sydney Hiner posted a service ace before the Crusaders took the set and match.
UP NEXT
Chowan returns to the court on Saturday, September 28 as the Hawks host Southern Wesleyan in a Conference Carolinas contest. First serve is at 2pm.
