CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston never trailed after the opening point and nine Cougars recorded kills to put CofC back on track with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-7, 25-14) sweep of Alabama A&M in the opening match of the CofC Holiday Inn Classic.
Charleston (9-2) started the tournament strong by dispatching the Bulldogs (0-12) in just over an hour while getting the full squad involved.
The Cougars hit .442 as a team, only making three attacking errors, while converting 10 serves into aces. AAMU hit -.011 with more errors than kills.
Cara Howley led the charge with a match-high nine kills to go with a .533 hitting percentage, her best effort of the season. Sloane White scored six kills with two blocks, while Grace Rebarchak made six kills and also had two blocks.
Kari Fidelholtz led the squad with 11 digs while making three aces to bring her team lead to 13 on the season. Taeler Davis ran the offense efficiently with 12 assists with Kallie McKown and Lexi Rhein each adding seven. Catey Warren scored four kills, while Ashley Watson had a season-high seven digs as the libero in the third set.
Emily Neideffer, Darcy Dorton and Kerstin Koehler only played the first set, while Andi Zbojniewicz and Melissa Morello took a rest after the second set.
Alabama A&M was led by Ashundria McNeal who finished with seven kills on 15 swings. Ashley Forman had 14 assists.
The Cougars were never threatened in any set as they built a 12-1 lead in the first, a 13-5 lead in the second and a 15-6 lead in the third set.
College of Charleston will take a quick break before turning on the primetime lights and going against Southern Methodist in the 7 p.m. nightcap of the CofC Holiday Inn Classic.
