Southern Conference Volleyball Power College of Charleston Returns to Campus
8/17/2009 2:30:00 PM | Volleyball
Interview with Sr. OH Emily Sawin
Interview with Jr. S/OH Cole Dawley
Interview with Head Coach Jason Kepner
CHARLESTON, S.C. – With eight straight regular season Southern Conference titles and a narrow five set loss in last season's conference championship match behind them, the College of Charleston volleyball program returned to campus this past week to begin preparations for the 2009 campaign.
The team is seeking to claim the program's sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament and extend the nation's fourth longest streak of consecutive regular season titles. The Cougars current streak of eight straight titles trails only Florida's (Southeastern Conference) 18 in a row, Hawaii's (Western Athletic Conference) 11consecutive and 10 straight by Florida A&M (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference).
This season, the College of Charleston returns eleven members of last season's 27-7 team, including all six starters plus libero. Leading the way are 2008 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) and junior setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) who earned All-Southern Conference First-Team and All-Tournament honors a year ago.
They are joined by senior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) who was named Second-Team All-Southern Conference and became only the eighth College of Charleston player to record her 1,000th career kill at the Division I level last season. Also back are sophomore libero Emily Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio), an All-Freshman team selection, right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) and powerful outside hitter Whitney Russell (Decatur, Ga.).
In the offseason, the Cougars added to their already considerable front line with the addition of 6-2 freshman middle blocker Kerstin Koehler (Weaverville, N.C.) and freshman outside hitter Kelly Kolich (Overland Park, Kan.) while bringing in a talented and championship tested setter in Liza Price (Fort Mill, S.C.).
The College of Charleston opens the 2009 season with tough test August 28-29 at the Big Orange Bash in Clemson, S.C. The Cougars will take on perennial Big South power Winthrop before tackling Southeastern Conference member and in-state rival South Carolina. They will cap their opening tournament with a primetime match against Clemson, a second round NCAA Tournament team a year ago, at 6 p.m. on August 29.
Players Mentioned
