Olivia Porter (So./Bakersfield, CA) registered a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs as Saint Augustine’s University celebrated Senior Night with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-17) CIAA volleyball victory over Shaw University at Emery Gymnasium on Friday, November 7, 2014. With the win, the Lady Falcons qualified for the CIAA Tournament next week.

Danyelle Noland (Fr./Nashville, NC) added nine kills for the Lady Falcons, who will enter the league tournament as the No. 4 Southern Division seed.

Both the Lady Falcons and Livingstone College ended the regular season tied for fourth place at 4-6, but the Lady Falcons hold the tiebreaker edge. They split their season series, but the Lady Falcons won in fewer sets. The Lady Falcons (7-9 CIAA) also boast a better conference record than Livingstone (6-10 CIAA).

The Lady Falcons will face Chowan University, the Northern Division top seed, in a noon quarterfinal match at Capel Arena in Fayetteville, N.C. on Friday, November 14. They made the tournament with a roster including six freshmen and two sophomores.

“This is a big accomplishment,” said SAU Head Coach Nikki Bynum Bumpass, whose Lady Falcons are 9-17 overall. “We endured through a tough season. We have a young squad but they received great leadership from my captains – Olivia and Juliseea [Thomas]. We dedicated the season to our angels Ronald [Cunningham] and Matthew [Mangram].”

It was a veteran student-athlete, however, who was recognized before the match. Chelsea Farrior (Sr./Tampa, FL) was honored as the lone senior on Senior Day. A libero player her first two years, Farrior was a valuable student assistant coach on the bench this season.

Thomas added 19 assists and eight digs for the Lady Falcons. Marley Parker (Fr./Langley, British Columbia) had nine digs while Meghan Mahon (So./Houston, TX) had seven assists and six digs. Porter and Parker both chipped in four service aces and Noland added three service aces. Mikayla Pettyjohn (Fr./Jamestown, NC) tallied three total blocks.