Volleyball Opens Home Slate With College of Charleston Invitational
9/8/2011 5:19:00 PM | Volleyball
This annual tournament comes to the College of Charleston after rotations at each of the other three S.C. schools. Last year, Clemson won the tournament with a dramatic 3-2 match win over the College of Charleston.
The Cougars enter the weekend after winning three matches, including eight games in a row, at the Georgia State Invitational on Sept. 2-3. The Cougars won the tournament and Elyse Chubb was named Tournament MVP, while Sarah Havel and Madelyn McGinnis made the All-Tournament team.
Admission is free for every match throughout the weekend, while seating is general admission. Fans can follow free live stats of every match, along with live video of all College of Charleston matches at the Tournament Central page.
THE MATCHUPS
• The Cougars face off against Winthrop for the 11th time this weekend, currently holding an 8-2 mark against the Eagles. College of Charleston took a 3-2 decision in last year's tournament at Winthrop.
• College of Charleston is 4-6 all-time against South Carolina heading into this weekend. The Cougars won a 3-2 victory over the Gamecocks last season.
• Clemson and CofC will meet for the seventh time on Saturday, with the Tigers holding a 5-1 all-time advantage, including a dramatic 3-2 victory to take last year's Carolina Challenge.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
• Winthrop comes into this weekend's with a 4-2 mark. The Eagles lost five-set matches against Kennesaw State and Oral Roberts this past weekend before defeating UT-Chattanooga in five.
• The Eagles have been led by the strong play of senior Becca Toor. Toor has already tallied 101 kills in just six matches for an average of 3.74 kills per set. She was named the Big South Player of the Week for the second straight time after finishing at the Owls Invitational with 56 kills, a .394 hitting percentage and 13 blocks. Catherine Brusie leads the team with 105 digs, while Stephanie Palmer has 247 assists as the setter.
• Winthrop was picked to finish fourth in the Big South preseason poll. Toor was voted as the league's Preseason Player of the Year. 2011 marks the first season for new head coach Julie Torbett, who takes over after 19 seasons at UNC-Asheville.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
• South Carolina heads to Charleston with a perfect 7-0 record, winning last week's Gamecock Invitational with victories over Gardner-Webb, Davidson, Elon and UNC-Asheville.
• Juliette Thevenin has led the Gamecocks in kills this season, averaging 4.17 per set. Bethanie Thomas won Tournament MVP honors last weekend after hitting .391 and averaging 3.15 kills and 3.0 digs per set. Setter Taylor Bruns and middle blocker Frankie Vain also made the All-Tournament team.
• South Carolina was picked to finish fifth in the Eastern Division in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
• The Clemson Tigers will look to bounce back from three straight losses in Florida with a successful weekend in Charleston. Clemson fell to Jacksonville, Florida and USC after defeating Florida Atlantic last weekend to move to 4-3 on the season.
• The Tigers' Sandra Adeleye leads the squad with 84 total kills, 3.65 per set for an attack percentage of .415. Cansu Ozdemir has tallied a team-high 67 digs for an average of 3.35 per set. Hannah Brenner is the team's setter with 136 assists this season.
• Clemson was picked to finish seventh in the ACC Preseason Poll after an 18-13 season in 2010. Adeleye was selected to the All-ACC Preseason team.
EMILY SHELTON SELECTED AS SOCON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt-junior libero Emily Shelton was named the Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday. Shelton tallied 69 digs in wins over Harvard, Jacksonville State and Georgia State.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Shelton anchored a Cougars defense that held opponents to a .126 hitting percentage over the weekend at the Georgia State Invitational.
Shelton tallied a match-high 29 digs in a 3-1 win over Georgia State in the tournament's final game. She led the Cougars in digs in every match over the weekend and has currently notched 105 digs on the season.
Players Mentioned
