HAMPTON, VA – The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (19-10) did what no other Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) team could do this season when the team took a five-set win over the top-seeded Chowan Hawks (25-7), Friday evening in pool play at the 2011 CIAA Volleyball Championship Tournament. With the win, the Lady Rams finished pool play with a perfect 3-0 record and will enter the single-elimination semifinals as the top team from Pool A.

The Lady Rams took a thrilling win over the Hawks, defeating the two-time defending conference champions, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20, 21-25, and 15-12. Prior to Friday evening's match, the Hawks had not lost a match to a conference team for the entire 2011 season, including posting a perfect record in the conference regular season. The match turned out to be an offensive shootout with the two teams combining for 119 total kills, including 60 WSSU kills.

The Lady Rams were led by a trio of offensive breakout efforts, led by junior outside hitter Avoni Seymour and sophomore hitter Francesca Edgerton both notching 12 kills each in the match. Senior hitter Adrienne Alexander added 11 kills as well. The team also had a great defensive effort with four solo blocks by freshman middle hitter Lauren Aikens.

With the win, the Lady Rams will enter the semifinal round of the tournament as the top seed from Pool A and will play the second seed from Pool B, the Saint Augustine's Lady Falcons with a spot in the 2011 CIAA Volleyball Championship match on the line.