College of Charleston
#1 James Madison
Cougars Advance to CAA Title Game with Win over James Madison
11/22/2015 1:44:00 AM | Volleyball
HARRISONBURG, Va. – For the third consecutive year, the College of Charleston volleyball team will play for the Colonial Athletic Association Volleyball Championship crown. The fifth-seeded Cougars earned a spot in the league's title game with a 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13) win over top-seeded James Madison at Sinclair Gymnasium on Saturday.
With the match in the balance, senior Kayla Tronick hit .700 with seven kills in the fourth set to force a deciding fifth set. From there, fellow senior Melissa Morello carried the team with seven kills en route to the squad's second consecutive five-set win. On Friday, CofC defeated No. 4 Hofstra in five.
“I'm very proud of this group and the way they stepped up for the second straight night,” CofC head coach Jason Kepner said. “Everyone made a big play to pull us through. Kayla had a big set, Devon (Rachel) had a ton of digs, Kennedy (Madison) played well and Taylor (Foley) provided a lot of positive energy on the court late.”
Morello finished with a team-high 25 kills and finished the match one dig shy of recording her league-best 23rd double-double of the season. It was her fifth straight match with 20 or more kills and the seventh time she reached the plateau this season.
Tronick, who earned eight blocks in Friday's match, didn't collect her first block until the third set against JMU, but ended the match with five, two coming in succession in the third frame. Allison Beckman turned in 60 assists, while Devon Rachel had a productive night with nine kills and a match-high 28 digs, also a career-high.
Rachel carried the Cougars early with four kills in the opening frame. Beckman finished off the Dukes with consecutive aces late in the set. In the pivotal fourth set with CofC clinging to a 12-11 lead Tronick posted four straight kills to help the Cougars pull away and eventually win the set, 25-20. Madison, who earned match point on Friday with a block, again claimed the final point for the Cougars with a kill in the final set.
“We knew that we had to come out a play well. We beat them earlier in the season and knew we could do it again if we played well,” Tronick said. “As a senior, I didn't want to the season to end that way so I took my chances and fortunately was able to pick up some kills.”
College of Charleston will take on the winner of No. 2 Towson and No. 3 UNCW. The title match is set for Sunday at noon. Links to live stats and live video can be found on CofCSports.com.
For more information on College of Charleston volleyball, visit CofCSports.com or follow the team on Twitter at @CofCVolleyball.
