College of Charleston
Oregon State
Cougars Fall to Oregon State
9/12/2010 3:55:00 AM | Volleyball
CHARLESTON, S.C. -The College of Charleston volleyball team finished play in the Holiday Inn Charleston Riverview Classic with a tough five-set loss to the Oregon State Beavers Saturday night at Carolina First Arena (28-30, 25-22, 14-25, 26-24, 15-10).
"We just have to finish better," said Cougar Head Coach Jason Kepner. "That's the key with us right now is stepping up and making the big plays at the end of games to finish."
Senior Whitney Russell led the Cougars with 27 kills and set a new CofC record for attempts with 79 in the contest. The previous record of 78 was held by Stephanie Ballard against Clemson on Sept. 5, 2003.
Fellow senior Paige Johnson tied her career-high with 30 digs and was named to the All-Tournament team. Senior Cole Dawley contributed with 51 assists, 10 digs and four blocks.
The Cougars (7-4) jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first-set, before Oregon State (5-5) battled back to even the score at 18-18. The score would be tied eight more times, before Dawley put the match away with a kill.
After struggling in the second set, the Cougars came back strong in the third set as they hit at a .294 efficiency compared to just .061 of Oregon State. The fourth set gave the Beavers some momentum with CofC failing to put the match away and going to a fifth and final set.
Kepner said that team will build on this experience as they get ready to host another tournament next weekend.
"We can play at a high level with teams from the big conferences," he said. "We have the ability to play with people, but we have to maintain that level next weekend when we don't have those names across the net. "
The Cougars will host The Holiday Inn Charleston Riverview Invitational next weekend. CofC will play North Florida on Friday and then resume action on Saturday against Radford and Central Michigan.
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