DAVIDSON, N.C. - College of Charleston won its second straight five-set match as the Cougars defeated Davidson, 3-2 (23-25, 25-17, 31-29, 22-25, 15-11).
College of Charleston moved to 19-9 on the season and 9-2 in conference. The Cougars are now 4-4 in five-set matches this season. Davidson fell to 13-11 and 3-8 in Southern Conference play.
Freshman Sloane White continued her strong weekend with a career-high 20 kills on .326 hitting. Seniors Sarah Havel and Elyse Chubb each tallied double figures with Havel getting 11 kills and five blocks while Chubb made 10 kills and hit .300. Sophomore Madelyn McGinnis came off the bench to make nine kills.
Four different players reached double figures in digs led by redshirt-junior Emily Shelton's 22 digs. Sophomores Taeler Davis and Kallie McKown each tallied double-doubles with 11 digs and 29 and 25 assists, respectively. Freshman Lizzie Theesfeld also made 11 digs.
"It's great to get a second road win on the weekend," head coach Jason Kepner said. "Davidson played extremely hard and put us in a lot of tough situations. We were fortunate to get out with a win. We have to keep working to improve on our consistency during games and from game to game."
Davidson's Caroline Brown made a match-high 22 kills on 68 swings along with 18 digs. Erin Lupfer and Tindall Sewell each made 13 kills.
Davidson built a 17-12 lead midway through the first set off of kills from Brown. However, the Cougars slowly fought back and eventually tied the game at 23 after a block from Havel and White and an attack error from Davidson's Christine Perzinski. However, Davidson won the next two points with blocks from Madison Benedict and took the first set, 25-23. Brown finished with six kills to lead the Wildcats in a .324 team attack percentage.
College of Charleston wasted no time building a lead in the second set, racing to a 10-2 lead off of Wildcat errors. Davidson eventually got to within 19-16, but a kill from Havel stopped Davidson's run. A late kill from White and block from Havel and White gave the Cougars a 25-17 set victory.
The third set tested the nerves of both teams as it featured 14 ties and nine lead changes. Similar to the first set, Davidson got out to a 16-11 lead and eventually led 18-14. However, College of Charleston mounted a furious rally, winning the next five points to lead 19-18, sparked by kills from White, Theesfeld, and sophomore Kallie McKown. Both teams traded points to a tie at 25 and the set continued. White was clutch in the extra points, nailing three kills including the set winner to give the Cougars a 31-29 game three victory. White made seven kills in the set, while McGinnis, who started the set, made six kills.
College of Charleston found itself down again in the middle of the set as the Wildcats built a 17-12 lead capped by a kill from Christine Perzinski. The Cougars chipped at the lead again and pulled to within 22-21 after kills from Chubb and Havel. However, Davidson came out strong after a timeout, winning three of the next four points to win the set, 25-22.
The Cougars jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set, but Davidson came right back out of a timeout to tie the game at six. But the Cougars retook the lead and Davidson could not tie the game again. A block from Havel and McGinnis ended the match for the Cougars as CofC won the fifth set, 15-11.
College of Charleston returns home this weekend for matches against Furman and Wofford. Sunday's 2 p.m. bout against the Terriers will be Senior Day.