College of Charleston
JMU
Volleyball Soars Past James Madison in Straight Sets
10/25/2014 2:30:00 AM | Volleyball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston volleyball put in one of their best performances of the season on Friday night, hitting .270 as a team and racking up 67 digs en route to downing James Madison University, 3-0 (27-15, 25-11, 25-18) at TD Arena.
The Cougars (15-9, 7-2 CAA) – who never trailed at any point throughout the match – were led by the outstanding play of team captains Cara Howley (11 kills), Melissa Morello (10 kills, .391), Andi Zbojniewicz (25 digs) and Kallie McKown (23 assists, 11 digs) – who registered her conference leading 16th double-double of the season. Recent CAA Rookie of the Week Mackenzie Cooler also dished out 14 assists while senior right-side hitter Sloane White chipped in with nine kills of her own.
Impressive throughout, the Cougars fought off a tightly-contested start to the opening game before turning a 7-7 tie in to a 11-7 advantage following a kill from sophomore middle Maddie Hills. The College maintained its four point lead until three straight Duke errors and another kill from Hills extended the lead to 23-16. After a Sloane White kill put the Cougars on the cusp, Kallie McKown served up her second ace of the game to give the Cougars a one set to none lead.
After the Cougars rolled over the Dukes in game two, 25-11, it was back to business in the third as CofC jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead courtesy of kills from junior Grace Rebarchak, White and Morello. A Janey Goodman kill brought James Madison to within three at 10-7, but that was as close at the visitors would come with White, Morello and Mummey all hammering home kills to deflate the Dukes and give the Cougars a 14-8 lead. It was all College of Charleston from there as the Cougars continued their excellent defending and efficient offensive play to eventually close out the match with a 25-18 game three victory.
The Cougars now move to 5-0 all-time versus James Madison, who were picked to finish second in the CAA preseason coaches' poll.
Up next for CofC is a Sunday showdown with William & Mary at TD Arena, where first serve is set for 1 p.m. The Cougars defeated the Tribe 3-1, on Friday Oct. 3 in their only previous matchup this season.
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