College of Charleston
Univ. of South Dakota
Cougars Begin Season In Dominating Fashion
8/27/2010 5:19:00 PM | Volleyball
DEKALB, Ill. - The College of Charleston volleyball team kicked off the season in dominating fashion as they started the Northern Illinois Invitational with a 3-0 victory over the University of South Dakota Friday morning in their first of two matches on the day (25-20, 25-11, 25-14).
The Cougars fell behind 1-4 in the first set before storming back and running off 10 straight points to claim a 11-4 lead. Senior Cole Dawley recorded eight of her match-high 24 assists in the opening set.
"We were a little slow to begin with," said Head Coach Jason Kepner. "Starting the season I think everyone was a little nervous and anxious. We did some good things in the first game, we just were not very consistent. Games two and three we were relaxed and we played some great volleyball."
In the second set it was all CofC as the team had 13 kills and only two errors en route to hitting .550 compared to -.129 percentage for South Dakota. Senior Whitney Russell threw down six kills in the set and finished the match with a .500 hitting percentage and 12 total kills.
"In the second game we dug a lot more balls and blocked a lot better," Kepner said. "We turned in on a little bit at the end of the first game and controlled games two and three from the beginning."
The Cougars rode a wave of confidence from the second set into the third set and continued to pressure South Dakota, holding the Coyotes to a -.024 hitting percentage. Four different CofC athletes recorded blocks for the match and sophomore Kerstin Koehler collected her first collegiate kill.
The Cougars now have some time to rest before their second match of the day as they take on Chicago State at 6p.m. ET.
