ELIZABETH CITY, NC- The Vikings volleyball team reigned victorious in an intense battle against the Hawks of Chowan University at home Thursday night 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-20,15-10), improving to a 6-2 overall record. 
 
The contest marked the Lady Vikings first game at home in the R.L. Vaughan Center, and the home crowd was full of excitement from start to finish. 
 
Junior Elizabeth Kellum (Jacksonville, NC) continues to dominate for the Vikings, she led the team in Kills totaling 14, 29 Assists, and also contributed 21 digs. Kellum's triple-double included personal season highs in both kills and assists. 
 
"Tonight's game was really important for us, and even though we had a slow start, we pulled it together and came out on top," said Kellum. "It was really great to see the amount of support from everyone who came to watch us at our first home game. I'm honestly surprised I had a triple-double, but I couldn't have done it without my team."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: 
The Vikings and Hawks put on a show from start to finish. In the first set, five unanswered points from Chowan gave the Hawks a 13-7 advantage at the midway point. The Vikings battled back, closing the scoring margin to tie the game at 13-all, but the Hawks finished the set off on an attack error 25-22.
 
The Vikings held a lead for most of the second set, but the Hawks did not make finishing the task easy. Chowan tied the score twice before kills from Kellum, and freshman Jada Rouse (Rock Hill, SC), and an attack error gave the Vikings a little breathing room to secure the set 25-23.
 
The Vikings struggled in the third set but managed to claw their way back into the set, coming within two points 16-18 after trailing the Hawks by seven. However, their tenacious effort wasn't enough and Chowan closed the set on a 6-2 run.
 
The fourth set was a showdown featuring nine ties. Three consecutive attack errors by the Hawks gave the Vikings a 21-18 edge, and the Vikings never looked back, securing the set 25-20.
 
Home crowd advantage and having a group of ladies that just won't back down paid off for the Vikings in the final set. Junior Aasia McNeill (Statesville, NC) put the final nail in the coffin with a kill to capture the set 15-10 and defeat the Hawks.

"Yes, we came out on top of this five set match but I don't think we played to our potential," said McNeill. "The one thing that lead us to our win was definitely our home crowd. That little extra push from all of our supporters was just what we needed to finish the game. It meant a lot to see how many different sports came out and supported us tonight. Hope to see them all again in our home match Saturday."
 
The Vikings will be back in action on Saturday at noon in the R.L. Vaughan Center to host Trinity University.
 
Follow Elizabeth City State Athletics via its official website at www.ecsuvikings.com to get pre-and post-game stories and updates.
 
ECSU Athletics is also on social media, follow us on Twitter at @ECSUVikings and Instagram at @ecsusports