MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Chowan Volleyball team won a five set thriller against CIAA Northern Division foe, Virginia State, at home on Thursday evening to remain perfect in CIAA Northern action.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 3, Virginia State 2 (25-19, 24-26, 23-25, 25-17, 15-9)

RECORDS | Chowan 7-9 (7-3, 4-0), Virginia State 4-13 (4-5, 2-1)

LOCATION | Murfreesboro, N.C. (Helms Center)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Karisa Patterson achieved the 1,000 assist mark during the second set as the senior pushed up 49 assists in the win.  Patterson added 14 digs to complete the double-double.

Makayla Castro joined Karisa Patterson with a double-double with 11 kills and 17 digs.  Reigning CIAA Rookie of the Week missed out on the double-double club with nine kills and 14 digs.

Offensively, Courtney O'Keefe led the Hawks with 15 kills, while teammate Brittany Tschida tacked on 14 kills.

Bailey Zavala posted 25 digs for the Hawks.  Alyssa Born helped out with nine digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

1st Set: Chowan 25, Virginia State 19

The Hawks jumped out to an early 8-2 lead forcing a VSU timeout.  The rally was aided by Trojan miscues.  Courtney O'Keefe put down two kills along with kills by Kayla Gates and Makayla Castro.

VSU miscues mounted as the Hawks moved to a 12-3 advantage.  Brittany Tschida rejected back-to-back attempts to push the Hawks forward.  The Hawks continued to be handed points by VSU on errors as Makayla Castro tallied the lone kill to extend the lead to 17-9.

The Trojans started chipping away but the deficit was too large as the Hawks cruised to a 25-19 opening set victory after Milica Vejnovic ended the set with a kill.

2nd Set: Chowan 24, Virginia State 26

Three straight Hawks miscues to open the set allowed VSU to gain momentum as the Trojans kept the lead until the middle of the set, 16-14.  Two kills by Brittany Tschida and a kill by Makayla Castro gave the Hawks their first lead of the set at 17-16 forcing a VSU timeout.

The Hawks and Trojans traded points as Courtney O'Keefe put the Hawks up 23-21.  VSU kept fighting as the Trojans regained the lead 24-23 after two miscues by the Hawks.

Kayla Gates would knot things at 24-all but a Trojan kill and a Hawk attack error evened the match at one set each.

3rd Set: Chowan 23, Virginia State 25

Much like the second set, Chowan used three straight Trojan miscues to take an early 5-1 lead.  The Hawks recorded their first kill in the set tying the set at 7-all on a Makayla Castro kill.

Chowan and Virginia State swapped points with the Hawks maintaining the slight edge.

Two Trojan kills and two attack errors by the Hawks allowed VSU to take the lead, 17-14, forcing a CU timeout.

VSU kept the lead as the Trojan advantage moved to 24-20.  The Hawks pushed back grabbing a service ace by Karisa Patterson and a block by Courtney O'Keefe to cut the deficit to 24-23.  VSU ended the set with a kill to take a 2-1 set advantage.

4th Set: Chowan 25, Virginia State 17

Chowan and Virginia State traded points to open the set until an 8-0 run gave the Hawks a 12-6 lead forcing a VSU timeout.  Brittany Tschida recorded the lone kill during the spurt.  Makayla Castro added a service ace to end the run.

The Hawks continued to push forward to lead 17-11 after two more VSU miscues.

VSU clawed back to cut the deficit to 18-14.  Two kills by Brittany Tschida and one Karisa Patterson forced a VSU timeout at 21-15.

Courtney O'Keefe and Kayla Gates recorded kills to end the set to even the match and force a decisive fifth set.

5th Set: Chowan 15, Virginia State 9

Courtney O'Keefe tallied two assists to keep the Hawks knotted up with VSU.  The Hawks and Trojans traded points until the switch as the Hawks moved towards the second half of the set leading 8-7.

Milica Vejnovic gave the Hawks a 10-7 lead but a VSU kill and a Hawk error forced a Chowan timeout at 10-9.

Courtney O'Keefe and Kayla Gates gave the Hawks a 12-9 lead after the timeout forcing VSU to call their final timeout.

VSU was unable to gain traction after the quick recess as self-inflicted errors handed the Hawks the 15-9 set victory and the match.

UP NEXT

The Hawks travel to Mount Olive, N.C. to face the Trojans in a non-conference match on Tuesday, October 10.  First serve is at 6pm.