The Hawks were just as superior as they were in the two teams' first match up, topping the Trojans 25-19, 25-6, 25-16 in the regular season finale for both teams Thursday in Erwin.

Two weeks after sweeping through South in Four Oaks, Triton finished its third undefeated regular season in the last four years.

With a share of the 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference hanging in the balance, any debate ended abruptly as Triton led throughout all three sets in the match.

"I felt we fought much better than the last time we played them," South Johnston coach Matthew Adams said. "We still failed to pass. That was the biggest deal.

"You can't pass and you can't run your offense. They were hitting the ball pretty well."

The Trojans (18-2, 8-2) end up as the No. 2 seed in the Conference tournament with potentially one more shot at Triton (20-0, 10-0) in the Conference tournament this week.

This marked the first year the Hawks flawlessly strung through the ECC, having previously been in the Cape Fear Valley and Big Eight South Conferences.

The Hawks' last defeat in the regular season came against 3-A Cardinal Gibbons early in the 2008 season.

On senior day, Triton seniors Lindsey Coats, Rachel Fuhrer and Ruth Tart all played their last regular season game for the Hawks. Coats, who mounted a dazzling 21 kills in the first meeting between the two teams, had 16 on Thursday to go along with three blocks.

The 6-foot-1 middle hitter is contemplating Barton College and Campbell University among others to play at the college level.

"She definitely added a lot to the team this year after losing five seniors last year," Triton coach Wendy Gaines said.

Coats aided the Hawks with three kills on their first four points of the opening set, then went on a six-point serving streak to extend Triton's lead to 22-11.

Brittany Barbour's serves helped South get back to within 24-19, but the Hawks ended it on the next play.

"Overall, I'm pleased with the win and the conference championship, of course," said Gaines, now in her 14^th season at Triton. "I just want them to stay at the top of their game at this point in the season."

Tart served the first eight points of the second set to bolt the Hawks to an 8-0 lead right off the bat. South never climbed closer than 12-5 for the remainder of the set.

"They're a good team," said Adams. "You can't make a lot of mistakes on your side of the net and expect them to make those same mistakes."

A quick start gave Triton the advantage again in the third game, this time jumping out to a 7-1 lead.

The Trojans hung around and made things interesting, down 14-12, but Triton regained focus to complete the sweep.

"I was proud of them for a chance to tie for a conference championship at this point in the season," Adams said. "We haven't been anywhere with that kind of success in a while at South."

The Trojans will open the NCHSAA 3-A playoffs on Saturday.