ATLANTA, Ga. - The College of Charleston captured the Georgia State Invitational championship with a win over the host Georgia State Panthers, 3-1, in action on Saturday evening at GSU Sports Arena.
College of Charleston (3-3, 0-0) could not pull away from Georgia State (4-3, 0-0) at any point as each match sported tense moments at the end (25-20, 25-21, 29-31, 25-21).
Senior Elyse Chubb was named the tournament MVP after she tallied 13 kills in the final match. A native of nearby Peachtree City, Ga., Chubb finished with 34 kills and a hitting percentage of .235 for the weekend.
Senior Sarah Havel and sophomore Madelyn McGinnis joined Chubb on the All-Tournament team. McGinnis led the Cougars against Georgia State with 17 kills, while Havel had nine kills and seven total blocks against the Panthers. McGinnis and Havel tied Chubb for kills on the weekend with 34.
Freshman Lizzie Theesfeld notched season highs in kills (13) and attempts (47) against GSU, and classmate Sloane White tallied 11 kills and eight block assists. Sophomore Kallie McKown set a new career high with 55 assists to go along with 11 digs, her third double-double of the weekend. Freshman Andi Zbojniewicz registered 21 digs, while redshirt-junior Emily Shelton posted 29 digs.
Georgia State's Muki Kangwa led the way with 20 kills on 69 attempts, while Jamie Freeman posted a double-double with 14 kills and 21 digs.
"It was a great weekend for our team as we played better and better each match," head coach Jason Kepner said. "Everyone is getting more comfortable in their new positions, and we are starting to play harder and better as a team. We are looking forward to getting home and opening our season in TD Arena in our tournament next weekend."
The Panthers and Cougars played close through the first part of the first game, reaching a 10-10 tie. The Cougars were able to open a 16-13 lead, but Georgia State rallied to tie it at 17 and again at 19 after a GSU ace. A block from Chubb and Havel followed by an ace from Shelton gave the Cougars a 22-19 lead, and College of Charleston went on to win the game 25-20. The Cougars notched four total aces in the set, including two from Zbojniewicz.
College of Charleston opened the second game on a 5-0 run off the serve of McKown who notched an ace in the run. The Cougars never trailed as Chubb powered College of Charleston to a 25-21 set victory with six kills on nine attempts for a .667 hitting percentage. The Cougars defense proved stout as six different players had multiple digs and Georgia Southern registered just a .050 hitting percentage.
Georgia State kept it close in the third game, not allowing the Cougars to lead by more than three points and tying the game at 14. The Panthers took their first lead of the game at 18-17 and forced a tie at 24. Both teams battled back and forth before Georgia State pulled out the third game, 31-29. Kangwa tallied 10 kills on 26 attempts for the Panthers, seeing the ball on nearly every play.
The Cougars took an 11-7 lead in the fourth game after a White kill punctuated a long rally. McGinnis pushed the lead to 15-10 with kills from the left side, but the Panthers rallied to take a 19-17 lead. College of Charleston battled back, winning five of the next six points and taking the set 25-21.
College of Charleston will open the season's home slate on Friday, Sept. 9, when the team hosts Winthrop in the nightcap of the CofC Invitational. The Cougars will then play South Carolina and Clemson on Saturday, Sept. 10.
