ECSU Lady Vikings Dominate Volleyball preseason team

April Emory
August 24, 2009

Elizabeth City State senior volleyball players Eva Johnson and Ashley Tarasoff are two of five Lady Vikings headlining the 2009 Pre-Season All-CIAA Volleyball Team.

ECSU, the defending CIAA Volleyball Champions placed five on the Pre-Season team, more than any other conference school. Fayetteville State University, their opponent in last year’s championship match, placed three on the Pre-Season team including two-time CIAA Player of the Year Chekimbrell Jefferson.

Johnson and Tarasoff are joined by teammates Xie’Ara Maybank-Smallings, Jennifer Hendy and Cassie Noe. All five Lady Vikings automatically qualified for the Pre-Season team since they were members of the 2008 All-CIAA First team at the end of last year. After capturing the school’s first CIAA Championship in 2008, the Lady Vikings will look to be frontrunners in this year’s championship race as they return everyone from last year’s squad.

The Lady Vikings will open up the season at a tournament hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC August 28-29. They will face Belmont Abbey and Limestone on Friday followed by Pfeiffer and Wingate on Saturday. For more information on ECSU Athletics, visit www.ecsuvikings.com.