After winning the first set, 25-20, College of Charleston (1-0) fell in the second set 25-18. The Hornets from Sacramento State (0-1) held a lead for most of the third set before the Cougars came back to win 25-23, and CofC fought for a 25-22 win in the deciding fourth game.

Junior Darcy Dorton led the way for College of Charleston with a match-high 23 kills and 18 digs for her first double-double with her new team. Sophomore Sloane White hit an efficient .367 as she landed 14 kills and made three blocks for CofC.

Making her first start in her CofC career, sophomore Catey Warren led the squad with six blocks to go with five kills, both career highs. Sophomore Lizzie Theesfeld made nine kills while freshman Kari Fidelholtz landed five kills and made four blocks.

Defensively, four different players hit double digits in digs as the Cougars made 82 team digs to just 65 for Sacramento State. Senior Emily Shelton led the way with 20 scoops and Dorton added 18. Andi Zbojniewicz, who made her career debut at libero in the third set, came just one dig away from her career high as tallied 20. Kallie McKown made 11 digs as she split setter responsibilities with Taeler Davis. Davis made 26 assists to McKown's 23 successful sets.

"We did a nice job of stringing some runs together when we needed to," head coach Jason Kepner said. "We made some nice runs at the end of the third and fourth sets, so I'm very happy with our ability to make some big plays in big moments."

The Hornets were led by the 19 kills of Jessie Genger. Janelle Currey made 10 kills and 14 digs. Olivia Moss led Sacramento State with eight blocks while Kayla Beal contributed six blocks. Sacramento State out-blocked CofC 14-12, but the Cougars ended with a better hitting percentage (.255-.144) thanks to a 62-47 advantage in kills.

The Cougars broke open a 7-7 tie in the first set with a nine-point run punctuated by back-to-back kills from Kerstin Koehler. The Hornets would pull to within 23-20, but Koehler ended the Sacramento State run with a kill and finished the set with a block.

Sacramento State established a four-point lead early in the second set (10-6), and the Cougars never fully made it back to even as the Hornets outhit CofC and recorded three blocks in the set, eventually winning 25-18.

Despite falling behind 7-1 in the third set, the Cougars slowly clawed their way back in, eventually tying the set at 18 after a Dorton kill. Two kills from White put CofC up 22-21, and a block and kill from Warren set up set point and a game-deciding kill from White.

The fourth set was just as tightly contested as the third one with neither team building a significant lead. Sacramento State attempted to pull away with a four-point run that opened an 18-14 lead, but College of Charleston rallied and tied the set at 19 after a block from Fidelholtz and Warren. Warren scored all three of the Cougars' final points on a block assist, kill and solo block that sealed the match victory.

College of Charleston continues in the Hampton Inn & Suites West Ashley Invitational tomorrow with a noon match against Jacksonville, and a 7 p.m. bout versus N.C. State.