Behind 14 kills by senior Tiffany Blum, the College of Charleston volleyball team defeated UNC Greensboro 3 -2 (30-28, 20-30, 20-30, 30-27, 15-12) in the second five-game match of the weekend. With the win, Charleston extends their winning streak to six games, dating back to the Oct. 11 win over Western Carolina.
Charleston improves to 17-6 overall and a 11-1 league mark to maintain first place in the SoCon. UNC Greensboro drops to 7-4 in conference play and 14-11 overall.
“I was happy with the way the team competed today,” Coach Jason Kepner said. “This was a tough and very emotionally charged match and we responded very well to that environment. It is great to leave North Carolina with two five-game victories.”
Charleston took game one 30-28 after falling behind 12-6. The Cougars scored three consecutive points to narrow UNC Greensboro's lead to three at 18-15. An attack error by UNC Greensboro at the 22-20 mark put Charleston within one, 22-21. The game had seven ties before Charleston scored the final two points off a Blum kill and a block by Blum and Deanna Patrick.
The Spartans took the next two games 30-20 to earn a 2-1 match advantage. The Spartans held Charelston's hitters to a .256 attack percentage in the second game and a .000 attack percentage in game three.
Charleston rebounded to take the fourth game of the match 30-27 to force a fifth, deciding game. Charleston opened with a three point drive before UNC Greensboro scored four of the next five points to tie the game at four. The Spartans scored on nine of the next 13 possessions, forcing CofC to use its first time out. Charleston scored seven points to narrow the Spartans' lead to 23-21, causing UNCG to take a time out. Two plays and two Spartan points later, Charleston called their second time out. The team regrouped and went on to eight unanswered points to take a 29-26 lead. A UNCG attack error gave the Cougars the game point and tied the match, 2-2.
UNC began game five with a 4-1 advantage before Charleston two back-to-back points to bring the game within one. A block by Ginny Phillips and Blum tied the game at six. The team traded points of five straight possessions before an Emily Lindborg kill gave the Spartans a10-8 advantage and forced a CofC time out. The Cougars scored on their next three possessions to make it a 11-10 Charleston advantage. An attack error by Patrick tied the game at 11, but Charleston scored on four of the last five possessions to take the game and the match.
The match saw four Charleston players with double-digit kills including Blum with 14, Emily Sawin with 13, 11 by Patrick, and Annie Uthe who totaled 10. Whitney Russell, Cole Dawley, and Lindsey Kane combined for 12 kills. Kane paced the offensive attack with 48 assists, while Megan Parkerson notched three service aces.
Defensively, Uthe led the Cougars with eight total blocks (one solo, seven assisted). Blum earned five blocks in the win while Patrick and Sawin combined for five. Pacing the defense was Kane with 16 digs while Parkerson added 13 of her own.
Paced by Lisa Fawell who recorded 64 assists, Nortz led the Spartan offense with 23 kills, while Fuller, the September SoCon Player of the Month, tallied 21. Katherine Hart and Lindborg, also recorded double-digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Fawell, Alissa Beaudway, and Kayren Finney combined for 10 kills. The team earned nine service aces on the effort with Nortz leading with three.
Nortz led the defense with seven blocks while Fuller and Hart posted a combined seven blocks. Cathering Hanners recorded a match-high 23 digs.
Charleston returns to the John Kresse Arena Friday, October 26 at 7 p.m. against Appalachian State. The team will host Davidson Oct. 27 and The Citadel on Oct. 30 in the last two home conference matches this season. Live stats will be available for all matches at www.cofcsports.com
