CofC Volleyball Clinches Fourth Straight Title with 3-1 Win over UNCG

Sunday, November 18

Chattanooga, Tenn.

2 p.m.

College of Charleston

UNC Greensboro

CofC Volleyball Clinches Fourth Straight Title with 3-1 Win over UNCG

11/18/2007 5:00:00 AM | Volleyball

By: CofCSports.com

The College of Charleston volleyball team clinched its fourth consecutive Southern Conference Tournament title with a 3-1 (30-21, 30-27, 28-30, 30-23) win over UNC Greensboro in Chattanooga, Tenn. With the win, the Cougars earned the league's automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

Charleston improved to 25-7 overall, while UNC Greensboro finished its season with a 20-15 mark

“I am so excited for this team to come out and played the way they did today. It really shows how badly this group wanted to win another championship,” Coach Jason Kepner said. “Greensboro played really well today and forced us to play our best to come out on top. I look forward to watching my first NCAA Selection show with this group on Sunday.”

“I haven't felt his good about a championship in my four years here. It's the most gratifying one since the one I've been here,” senior middle blocker and 2007 Tournament MVP Tiffany Blum said. “It's great to win it for the freshman and coaches. As senior, there isn't a better way to finish conference play.”

A block by Cole Dawley and Tiffany Blum provided the opening point of the match and set the tone for the rest of game one. UNC Greensboro used a 5-0 run to gain a 9-4 lead before a kill by Blum ended the run. Charleston scored six of seven points to tie the game at 11 off a kill by sophomore Emily Sawin. The Cougars took a three point lead, 15-12, before UNC Greensboro answered with a point of its own. A kill followed by a block by Lindsey Kane and Blum gave CofC a five point edge at 20-15. A block by Annie Uthe and Sawin scored Charleston's 25th point and put the game out of reach for the Spartans. Sophomore Brooke Truxillo recorded a service ace that gave CofC a nine point advantage and a kill by Blum gave Charleston the 30-21 victory and a 1-0 lead.

A kill by Sawin and consecutive blocks by Kane and Blum sparked the Cougars to score six of the first seven points of game two. The Spartans used a three-point run to bring the game within two at 7-5. A kill by Deanna Patrick put the College in double digits with a five-point lead at 10-5. The Spartans battled back with a 3-0 run that made it a 11-9 game. UNCG's Branagan Fuller notched a game-tying kill, but Sawin reclaimed the Cougar lead with a kill of her own. UNC Greensboro took its first lead of the game with the 20^th point, followed by back-to-back points to give the Spartans a 22-20 lead. The game saw five more ties before a service ace by Dawley forced a UNCG timeout at 28-27. Charleston scored the final three points of the game to seal the second game, 30-27.

The teams exchanged points on the first five possessions of game three, but then consecutive points gave the Spartans a two-point lead. The Spartans scored on six of the next nine possessions to give them an 11-6 advantage. Charleston put together a 7-0 run to tie the game at 16 and force UNC Greensboro to use its first timeout. The score was tied two more times before a point by Sawin gave the Cougars a two-point edge. The two teams knotted the score five times before UNCG scored two consecutive points to give the Spartans a two-point lead and force a CofC timeout at 25-27. Back-to-back points by the College brought the Cougars within one at 28-29 and UNCG called its final timeout of the game. UNC Greensboro would score the next point to take game three 30-28 and force a fourth game.

A service error by UNCG's Caitlyn Nortz put Charleston on the board before a block by Dawley and Blum tied game four at two. The score knotted three times before a block by UNCG's Catherine Hart and Kayren Finney gave the Spartans a two-point advantage. Charleston put together an 8-0 run to give Charleston a 15-10 lead and force a UNCG timeout. Lauren Keiser of UNC Greensboro ended the Charleston rally with a kill to narrow Charleston's lead to four. Charleston used a timeout after a 3-0 run by the Spartans that made it a 19-17 game. A service ace by Blum extended the Cougar lead to four at 22-18. Charleston scored six of the next twelve points to take a 28-23 lead Spartans and force a Spartan timeout. Charleston would score the final two points of the match, including the championship point off a kill by Patrick.

Blum led the team with a .370 hitting percentage, converting 22 of 46 kill attempts. Emily Sawin earned a season-high 19 kills for a .350 hitting percentage in the win. Blum also led the team in blocks with seven, while Kane notched six. Kane was also six-for-12 and paced the offense with a match-high 54 assists. Dawley led the team in digs with 23.

For UNC Greensboro, Finney led the team with 14 kills, wile Fuller and Nortz earned double-digit kills with 10 and 11, respectively. Hanners paced the defense with 24 digs and added six blocks in the loss. Nortz earned a match-high eight blocks in the effort.

In addition to Blum being named the tournament Most Outstanding Player, Kane and Sawin were both named to the 2007 All-Tournament Team. Also named to the All-Tournament Team was Nortz and Fuller from UNC Greensboro, Lara Newberry (Chattanooga), and Lorelle Rau (Appalachian State).

Charleston will host Winthrop in a NCAA Tournament warm-up match Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. in the Jon Kresse Arena. The Cougars will find out who they play in the NCAA Tournament in a selection show Sunday, Nov. 25^th at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.