CHOWAN RALLIES FOR FIRST EVER CIAA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP April J. Emory 11/08/09 CIAA Rookie of the Year Karina Monroe Named Tournament MVP HAMPTON, VA- Chowan University captured the first CIAA championship in school history when their volleyball team defeated Fayetteville State University in five sets (17-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 15-11) Sunday afternoon at the Boo Williams Sportsplex. This is Chowan’s first year as a full-fledged member of the CIAA in all sports. They also won the CIAA Western Division at the close of the regular season. After dropping the first set the Hawks (29-8) took three of the final four sets to close out the win. Antoinette McCollough topped Chowan with a team high 21 kills versus only 4 hitting errors. The Lady Broncos (20-9) were paced by regular season MVP Chekimbrell Jefferson’s 21 kills. Karina Monroe was tabbed for tournament MVP honors with 15 kills and 8 assisted blocks. The Hawks will now receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs. The 2009 All-Tournament Team is a follows; NAME                    POSITION                INSTITUTION Ashley Tarasoff         Setter                  Elizabeth City State Stephony Newkirk        Middle Blocker          Saint Augustine’s Victoria Lewis          Outside Hitter          Chowan University Samantha Meeks          Outside Hitter          Fayetteville State Antoinette McCollough   Middle Blocker          Chowan University Achari Mainor           Setter                  Fayetteville State Callie Armistead        Setter                  Chowan University Chekimbrell Jefferson   Middle Blocker          Fayetteville State Karina Monroe           Middle Blocker          Chowan University (Tournament MVP)