College of Charleston
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North Florida
Cougars Finish Sand Classic With Dramatic 3-2 Win Over UNF
3/25/2012 11:37:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
With the dual victory, the Cougars moved to 2-3 in dual competitions this season, and finished 2-1 on the weekend after defeating Mercer on Friday and losing to Pepperdine on Saturday.
College of Charleston went in a hole early as the opening four and five pairings each lost close matches to the Ospreys. A sudden thunderstorm delayed the match as the first round concluded and the two teams were delayed for an hour.
UNF seemed to feel comfortable coming out of the break with the first and second pairing each winning the first game, 21-13 and 21-11 respectively. However, the Cougars responded with furious rallies in the second games as the first and second pairings won and forced deciding sets, while the third pairing won the second game for a straight set match win.
College of Charleston fans closely watched the final sets as Elyse Chubb and Lizzie Theesfeld played on court one and Kelly Kolich and Emily Shelton played on court two. Both pairings allowed the Ospreys to stay close, but two simultaneous and momentous runs pulled the Cougars ahead at the end and sealed a comeback dual victory.
"I was very impressed with how we responded to being down early and having the weather interruption," said head coach Jason Kepner. "These players had never dealt with the elements in this way before, and they responded with toughness and they fought hard. Overall, I thought we were very successful this weekend and continued to improve as a team."
As the top pair, Chubb and Theesfeld's victory of 13-21, 21-16, 15-11 was certainly crucial to sealing the dual victory. Chubb showed why she is one of the most decorated players in the history of College of Charleston volleyball by coming alive with kill after kill in the late stages. Chubb notched 11 kills in the second game and finished with 23 for the match. Theesfeld made eight digs and 10 kills.
Shelton and Kolich's win in the second flight (11-21, 21-19, 15-12) was keyed by the diving digs from Shelton who finished with 16 for the match. Kolich made 15 kills, exactly five each game. The Cougars trailed in final game late, but rallied to tie the score at 11 and eventually win 15-12.
The Cougars threes of Andi Zbojniewicz and Kirsten Koehler were the only CofC pairing to sweep a match in the dual. The group won 23-21, 21-15 as Zbojniewicz tallied 15 kills and eight digs. Koehler made five digs and 11 kills.
Despite a close three-set match, the CofC fours of Catey Warren and Emily Neideffer could not overcome hitting and serving errors and fell to UNF, 21-18, 17-21, 15-10. The CofC fives of Kallie McKown and Sloane White lost 21-15, 21-19.
The Cougars will travel to Atlantic Beach, Fla., for a tournament hosted by North Florida starting on Saturday, March 31.
Players Mentioned
