College of Charleston
Harvard
Cougars Rally To Defeat Harvard, 3-2, In Georgia State Invitational
9/2/2011 8:00:00 PM | Volleyball
Senior Sarah Havel led College of Charleston (1-3, 0-0) with a match-high 18 kills, just one shy of her career high. Havel registered a .348 attack percentage while also notching three total blocks. Sophomore Madelyn McGinnis also reached double figures in kills, slamming 12 to go along with a career-best 20 digs and three block assists. Senior Elyse Chubb picked up nine kills.
Freshmen Sloane White and Lizzie Theesfeld each tallied seven kills and White added seven total blocks. Redshirt-junior Emily Shelton registered a season-best 29 digs, and Kallie McKown set a new career high with 44 assists.
"It was great to get our first win today," head coach Jason Kepner said. "We were a little tentative in the first two games, but worked really well as a team in the last three. Sarah Havel did a great job on the outside, and Sloane White was everywhere from her middle position. I was really proud of the way we finished, and look forward to our two matches tomorrow."
Harvard was led defensively by Christine Wu who picked up a match-high 36 digs. Three Crimson players hit double figures in kills as Taylor Docter (15), Kristen Casey (13) and Erin Cooney (11) played well up front.
Harvard came out strong in game one, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. McGinnis picked up two quick points and helped spur a Cougar run that eventually brought the margin to 14-12. However, the Crimson defense held strong through the rest of the game and Harvard took a 25-19 set decision. McGinnis finished with three kills in the first game for CofC, while Harvard's Wu picked up 10 digs.
The second game started with both teams deadlocked, playing to a 6-6 tie before Harvard won the next three points and forced a Cougars timeout. However, College of Charleston put together an 8-3 run to build a 14-12 lead off of strong offensive play from McGinnis (three kills, two service aces). Despite falling behind 19-15 and then 23-21, the Crimson rallied at the end of the set with four straight points to win the game, 25-23.
The Cougars raced out to a 12-4 lead in the third game behind a strong Havel serve and lockdown defense. The Crimson reeled off a 5-0 run to bring the margin back to 12-9, but the Cougars responded with strong play from Havel and White at the front, rolling to a 25-13 set victory.
Havel and freshman Lizzie Theesfeld each tallied four kills in the third, while White picked up four block assists. Shelton had eight digs while McGinnis notched seven digs. The Cougars hit .250 in the third set with only three attacking errors.
Both teams played to a 10-10 tie in the fourth game before the Cougars streaked to a 17-12 lead behind blocks from Chubb and White. However, the Crimson rallied yet again to tie the match at 21. A kill from White broke a 22-22 tie and the Cougars won the game on a service ace from Theesfeld.
Cougars opened the final game with a 4-1 lead, but Harvard responded with four straight points to go up 5-4. However, with the game tied at 10, senior captains Chubb and Havel scored the Cougars' last five points, including four kills from Havel, to win the game 15-12, and the match 3-2.
College of Charleston will continue play at the Georgia State Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 3, with an 11 a.m. match against Jacksonville State.
Players Mentioned
