ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - The Elizabeth City volleyball team defeated the Indians of Catawba College in four sets 3-1 (24-26, 25, 25-16,25-12, 25-16) in the Vaughan Center on Tuesday night. The Vikings slide by .500 to a 7-6 season (1-0 CIAA) as the Catawba Indians drop to a 3-8 season ( 1-3 SAC). This matchup marks an inaugural game in the Vaughan Center between the two teams. The Vikings outscored Catawba by 21 points overall and swatted 44 kills with five Vikings posting over six kills a piece and tallied 9 service aces.

"Big team win tonight; to have five players with more than six kills speaks to how balanced we are" says 2021 CIAA Coach of the Year David Brooks, " it's cliche to speak but, defense wins championships".

As regarded about defense, leading that charge was freshman middle blocker Clarke Blakemore who balanced reactions to both sides of the ball posting 10 kills and put a pause on the Catawba offense with four solo blocks of her own. 

"You've got to give it to Clarke for stepping up big like that", reviews Brooks, " That's a huge execution for a freshmen in this league and she deserves the acknowledgment for that level of court command". 

The Vikings head in to the CIAA Northern Divisional Round-Up on a four game win streak. First match will feature the Vikings against Claflin University at 1 p.m. At 5 p.m., the ladies take on Livingstone College and will finalize their weekend in a 2021 CIAA Championship semi-finals rematch against Fayetteville State at 11 a.m. on Sunday.