College of Charleston
Chattanooga
Cougars Rally to Down Chattanooga in Five Sets
9/6/2014 4:40:00 PM | Volleyball
ATHENS, GA. – College of Charleston volleyball came together in a big way on Saturday afternoon, fighting from a set down to earn a hard-fought 3-2 (18-25, 27-25, 25-22, 22, 25, 15-11) victory over the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The match now sets up a mouth-watering tournament finale this evening against the hosts, the University of Georgia Bulldogs.
Leading the Cougars offensively against Chattanooga were the usual suspects, Melissa Morello (14 kills), Sloane White (14 kills) and Cara Howley (13 kills), while freshman Krissy Mummey continued to impress with another six blocks. Senior setter Kallie McKown racked up 32 assists as well.
The College got off to a tough start in the opening frame, allowing the Mocs to rattle off five straight points early, enough to give the SoCon side a 10-4 lead. The Cougars tried to claw their way back in to the match at 18-14, but poor ball control and a .111 team hitting percentage proved too much to overcome as the Mocs stole game one 25-18.
The Cougars were a much improved team in the second set, crisp in their passing and stout defensively. After trading points early, the Cougars rode the dynamic play of Sloane White and Cara Howley to take a 13-9 lead. It was Howley, however, who proved to be the difference maker in the second frame, tallying six kills and terrorizing Chattanooga's back row throughout. The Mocs held firm though, taking a 22-21 lead, but it wasn't enough as the Cougars continued to set Howley – who slammed home three straight kills to give the Cougars a 27-25 second set victory.
Although a slow start to the third game saw the Cougars down 8-3 early, CofC eventually found its game two form, rattling off five of seven points to tie the set at 15 apiece. Three consecutive kills from Chattanooga put The College back down three, but after a blistering kill from Morello and a handling error from the Mocs setter, the Cougars were once again on equal terms at 21-21. It was all CofC from there as kills from Warren, Morello and back to back put-aways from Howley put the Cougars on top two sets to one.
The tide then turned again in the fourth set, where despite a resilient effort from the Cougars, Chattanooga out-hit The College .275 to .146, taking the fourth game 25-22 and sending the match to a deciding fifth frame.
The final set was a battle as the two teams split the opening six points. A Chattanooga attack error gave the Cougars a 5-3 advantage, but the Mocs quickly equalized again at 5-5. No team led by more than two from then on until CofC took a 10-7 lead on an ill-timed Chattanooga attack error. Krissy Mummey then lined up her fourth kill of the match to put the Cougars ahead 12-10, before junior Kari Fidelholtz came up huge with a block of her own at 13-10. A clutch kill from Cara Howley following a long rally put the Cougars on the precipice at 14-11 before a Chattanooga error sealed the victory.
“We toughed this one out,” said head coach Jason Kepner after the match. “Chattanooga did some things that put us in difficult situations, but we stayed focused, and grinded out the win. Now we'll go get some rest before taking on a very good Georgia team this evening.”
LOOKING AHEAD TO TONIGHT…
In their final match of the 2014 Bulldog Invitational, the College of Charleston will face tournament hosts, and fellow 2013 NCAA tournament participants, Georgia. Here are some quick facts ahead of tonight's tournament finale:
When/Where: 7:00 p.m. (Ramsey Center, Athens, Ga.)
Opponent: University of Georgia
Conference: Southeastern Conference
2014 Record: 2-2 (0-0 SEC)
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
