College of Charleston
Stetson
Volleyball Cruises Past Fullerton, Wins CofC Classic
9/14/2014 2:42:00 AM | Volleyball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston volleyball downed Stetson and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday in straight sets to claim their first tournament title of the season at the home-hosted CofC Classic.
The Cougars were led by tournament MVP Cara Howley, who after dropping a career-high 26 kills against Wake Forest on Friday night, added another 26 on Saturday against the Hatters (14) and the Titans (12). Also garnering all-tournament team honors were freshman middle Krissy Mummey and senior libero Andi Zbojniewicz – both of whom contributed heavily with 26 blocks and 37 digs, respectively.
Following a thrilling five set victory over Wake Forest on Friday night, the Cougars were back in action at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, against Atlantic-Sun opponents, Stetson. After finding themselves down three, 10-7, early in the opening set, the Cougars turned on the jets, going up 21-16 courtesy of a kill from Howley. Although the Hatters clawed back to 24-23, a thunderous put-away from junior team captain Melissa Morello sealed the game one victory for the Cougars.
After taking the second set in sparkling fashion, 25-16, the Cougars found themselves up in the third after a kill from senior outside hitter Catey Warren gave The College a 6-2 advantage. Stetson slowly worked their way back in the game, eventually tying things up at 20-20, but the Cougars proved resilient, and after taking a 22-21 lead, senior setter Kallie McKown found Howley, who delivered on back-to-back-to-back kills to seal the match, 25-21. The Cougars finished the contest hitting at a .381clip, while holding their opponents to just .204.
Following a brief respite, CofC was back in action at 7:00 p.m. for the tournament finale against Cal State Fullerton. After a Titan lost earlier in the day to Wake Forest, the tournament title was still on the line as the two teams took to the floor.
College of Charleston came out flying in the opening set, going up 7-3 through early kills from Morello, Sloane White and Howley, while also benefitting from three Titan attack errors. The visitors soon regained their composure to tie the game at 16-16, but that was as close as they would come as the Cougars shored up their defensive approach and rode .333 team hitting percentage to a 25-20 first set victory.
The second set restored parity as it was Fullerton's turn to take an early lead. All-Tournament selection Holland Crenshaw gave the Titans a 20-14 advantage late in the frame, but the Cougars managed to flip a switch, scoring 11 of the next 17 points to tie the game at 24-24. After a kill from Howley gave The College a set point, an attack error from the Titan's freshman outside hitter, Niki Withers, gave CofC a critical two sets to none lead.
The third game was close early, but after being tied at 11 apiece, the Cougars flexed their muscles, quickly taking a 20-14 lead. A kill from junior Kari Fidelholtz extended The College's advantage, before Maddie Hills sealed both the match and the tournament title with back-to-back kills.
It's a quick turnaround for the Cougars, who will enjoy a light practice on Monday before heading to Conway, S.C., on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. clash with the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
2014 CofC Classic All-Tournament Selections
MVP: Cara Howley (CofC)
All-Tournament Team: Andi Zbojniewicz (CofC), Krissy Mummer (CofC), Holland Crenshaw (Fullerton), Alexa Drost (Stetson), Caroline Wolf (Wake) and Jazmen Russell (Wake)
CONNECTING WITH THE COUGARS
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