CHARLESTON, S.C. - College of Charleston finished the opening weekend of Southern Conference play with a 2-0 record after the Cougars swept Elon, 3-0, at TD Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The Cougars (10-7, 2-0) recorded their third sweep of the season by defeating the visiting Phoenix (11-6, 0-2), 25-15, 25-11, 25-19. College of Charleston was extremely efficient in the attack, notching a season-best percentage of .366.
Senior Elyse Chubb led the Cougars with 10 kills on 17 attempts with no errors for a season-best attack percentage of .588. Chubb also recorded a match-high five total blocks. Both Madelyn McGinnis and Sloane White landed nine kills and Lizzie Theesfeld had seven.
Sophomore Kallie McKown notched another double-double with 11 digs and 26 assists while Emily Shelton led the team with 14 digs. Senior Hayley Harrell made nine digs.
"I thought we put together three very well-played sets," head coach Jason Kepner said. "We were clicking on offense, defense and had some great serves. Top to bottom, this was a great performance."
The Phoenix were led by Carly Ledbetter who notched eight kills. Traci Stewart had seven kills and Caroline Lemke had six.
The Phoenix took an early 4-2 lead in the first set before College of Charleston came back to tie it at eight apiece. The Cougars then went on an eight-point run during Theesfeld's serve, carried by four kills from Chubb, as CofC opened a 16-8 advantage. The Phoenix never got closer than seven points as College of Charleston finished the set with a .414 hitting percentage and a 25-15 set win.
Efficient College of Charleston hitting continued in the second set as the Cougars opened up a 13-9 lead. After a block and kill from Elon cut the margin to 17-11, the Cougars won the next eight points to win the set 25-11. Theesfeld, Chubb, McGinnis and White all had multiple kills and the CofC defense held Elon to a -.027 hitting percentage.
The Phoenix played tough all the way through the third set as neither team could build a significant lead until the very end. The Cougars broke open an 18-17 margin with three straight points to hold a 21-17 lead that Elon could not overcome. Sophomore Taeler Davis made eight assists in the final set, and White managed five kills, as the Cougars won 25-19.
College of Charleston will hit the road for the last non-conference match of the season, playing Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C. on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m.
