CHARLESTON, S.C. - College of Charleston won the first and third set, but could not hold on to put away Winthrop in the first day of the College of Charleston Invitational. The Eagles captured a 25-20 victory in the fourth set, and won the deciding game, 15-10.
College of Charleston (3-4, 0-0) sported four different players in double figures in kills in Sarah Havel (14), Elyse Chubb (14), Madelyn McGinnis (11) and Lizzie Theesfeld (10). Sophomore Kallie McKown picked up a career-high 47 assists and 20 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
Winthrop was led by Carolyn Weed who tallied 15 kills and a hitting percentage of .316. Big South Preseason Player of the Year Becca Toor registered 12 kills on 30 swings.
"It was a tough, hard-fought match," head coach Jason Kepner said. "I thought Winthrop did a great job of withstanding that first game. I thought we came out exactly how I wanted us to, and we did a nice job in that first game. After that first one, I thought we took a step back and relaxed a little too much."
The Cougars jumped out to a quick lead in the first set, extending an 8-7 lead to 15-8 off of three kills by Havel. The Eagles were never closer than five points as College of Charleston ran to a 25-12 set win. The Cougars hit an impressive .536 in the first set with just two attacking errors. The Cougars defense, led by redshirt-junior Emily Shelton, recorded 12 digs and held the Eagles to just a .077 attacking percentage.
The second set remained close the whole way until Winthrop broke open a 17-17 tie, taking advantage of three straight College of Charleston attack errors. Two kills from Brittany Blackman put the game out of reach and Winthrop tied the match with a 25-18 set win.
College of Charleston responded well in the third game, building a 6-2 lead and holding an advantage of six or seven points throughout the set. Winthrop broke set point three times until a kill from freshman Sloane White gave College of Charleston a 25-21 set win and a 2-1 match lead. Shelton recorded nine digs in the set while Havel landed four kills on nine swings.
The fourth game followed the trend of the second as Winthrop did not let Charleston pull away, forcing a tie at 20 apiece. The Eagles then promptly ran off five straight points to shock the home crowd and force a fifth set. Weed notched a game-high six kills in the fourth set as the Eagles hit .265 in attacking percentage. The Cougars were less efficient, registering just a .093 attack percentage with only Chubb getting to three kills.
The Cougars excited the crowd to start the final set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. However, Blackman stepped up big for Winthrop again, recording consecutive kills to tie the game after a McKown service error. Winthrop scored three straight points to break open a slight 7-6 margin to 10-6 and the Cougars were unable to recover. Winthrop won the final set 15-10.
"We didn't continue to push after the first game," Kepner said. "We have to do a better job of maintaining a level of play for an entire match and not just for a game or two. This team is still extremely good. I think if we can maintain a certain level of play, we are going to be successful."
College of Charleston returns to the court at TD Arena tomorrow morning at 12:30 p.m. for a matinee match against South Carolina. The Gamecocks fell to Clemson in the earlier match of the College of Charleston Invitational, 3-0. The morning will open with a bout between Winthrop and Clemson at 10 a.m. Admission is free for all matches.
