College of Charleston
Belmont
VOLLEYBALL DOWNS BELMONT IN TOURNAMENT OPENER
9/5/2014 10:30:00 PM | Volleyball
ATHENS, GA. – College of Charleston volleyball got back to winning ways on Friday afternoon, downing the Belmont Bruins, 3-1 (25-19, 25-15, 15-25, 26-24) in their opening match of the 2014 Bulldog Invitational.
The Cougars were paced by senior right-side hitter Cara Howley's 10 kills, while sophomore middle Maddie Hills chipped in with 6 blocks. Senior libero Andi Zbojniewicz grabbed 22 digs to set up 2013 CAA setter-of-the-year Kallie McKown, who continued to impress with 15 assists.
It was all CofC from the outset as The College came out firing in the opening frame. After a Catey Warren kill squared the game at four points apiece, CofC rattled off six of the next eight to take a 10-6 lead. That advantage was quickly extended to 18-8, courtesy of Howley and Krissy Mummey, as well as three consecutive Bruin attack errors. From there the first set result was never in doubt, and sophomore Maddie Hills put away three of the Cougars final five points to give The College a 25-19 game one victory.
The second set was more of the same as the aggressive Cougars continued to press the outgunned Bruins in the set's early stages. Hitting .333 as a team, CofC jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead after back-to-back kills from Howley. The Bruins clawed back to within one at 9-8, but The College again hit the accelerator as consecutive kills from Melissa Morello, Sloane White, Warren and Mummey helped the Cougars to a commanding 19-11 lead. CofC then closed out the set after another Bruin attack error set the stage for Morello – who laid down a huge kill to give the Cougars a 2-0 set advantage.
The Bruins found their form in the third set, doing to The College what had been done to them. After jumping out to an early 6-2 lead, Belmont weathered a mini-run from the Cougars at 12-10, claiming five of the next six points and eventually forcing a fourth set with a 25-15 game three win.
It looked like the Bruins were on their way to forcing a fifth set as well after taking a 10-6 lead in the fourth, but the Cougars swiftly fought their way back in to the game, and a massive block on the outside from Morello and Hills gave the Cougars belief at 16-16. A put-away from Belmont's Scarlet Gable gave the Bruins' a 24-23 lead late, but with their backs the wall, the Cougars rose to the occasion as freshman Krissy Mummey notched a huge kill to tie the match. A handling error from the Bruins setter then put the Cougars on the cusp at 25-24, before Howley slammed home the match-winner.
The College will now look ahead to tomorrow's double header versus the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (10 a.m.) and the hosts, the University of Georgia (7:00 p.m.). Both matches are to be played at the Ramsey Center in Athens, Ga.
LOOKING AHEAD TO TOMORROW'S DOUBLE HEADER...
On the second and final day of the Georgia Tournament, College of Charleston volleyball takes on former SoCon rivals UT Chattanooga in the morning, followed by an evening headliner against the hosts, the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Here is everything you need to know about tomorrow matchups.
GAME 1: 10:00 a.m. (Ramsey Student Center, Athens, Ga.)
Opponent: Chattanooga Mocs
Conference: Southern Conference
2013 Record: 4-27 (3-13 SoCon)
Series History vs. CofC: CofC leads series 27-9
Players to Watch: Kristy Wieser (2.33 kills/set) & Lauren Greenspoon (9.5 assists/set)
2014 Preseason Conference Poll Placement: 5th/9a
Best Way to Follow the Match: Live stats available via Gametracker, here: http://bit.ly/1qgRgns
GAME 2: 7:00 p.m. (Ramsey Center, Athens, Ga.)
Opponent: University of Georgia
Conference: Southeastern Conference
2013 Record: 22-10 (11-7 SEC)
Series History vs. CofC: UGA leads series 1-0
Players to Watch: Laura Teknipp (2.73 kills/set) & Kayle Kehoe (9.5 assists/set)
2014 Preseason Conference Poll Placement: 8th/12
Best Way to Follow the Match: Live stream available here: http://bit.ly/1t4p4CD
CONNECTING WITH THE COUGARS
For all of the latest news and information on Cougar volleyball, you can follow the program @CofCVolleyball and @CofCSports or follow the team on Facebook here
