WILMINGTON, N.C. – Trailing 2-0, the College of Charleston volleyball team won the next two sets but fell just short of a spectacular comeback as UNCW downed the Cougars 3-2 (25-19, 25-14, 14-25, 20-25, 15-9) at Hanover Hall on Friday.
“I thought we got off to a bad start, we just didn't play well in the first two sets,” head coach Jason Kepner said. “Our leaders challenged the team during the break and the team responded in the third and fourth sets. UNCW is a very good team and you can't give them as many breaks as we did tonight.”
Behind the attack of Melissa Morello and Kennedy Madison and the solid defending of McKala Rhodes, the Cougars were able dig out of a 2-0 hole to force a fifth set. UNCW, however, jumped out to 5-1 lead in the deciding set and never looked back, handing The College its first loss in a conference opener since 2004.
UNCW (10-3, 1-0 CAA) handled the first set with authority, jumping out to a 6-2 lead and later a 9-3 run to command a 19-12 advantage. The Seahawks recorded five blocks in the set while CofC assisted with 10 errors in the frame. A pair of kills by Krissy Mummey and another from Allison Beckman helped the Cougars to a 6-1 run late, but the rough start was too much to overcome.
The second set wasn't much different from the first as the Seahawks used a dominate block combined with a more effective attack, swinging .483, to take the set 25-14. Freshman Kennedy Madison took control of the third set, recording five kills helping to keep UNCW from reclaiming momentum. Taylor Foley ended the set with the Cougars' second ace of the frame as CofC rolled to a 25-14 win.
Morello finished the match with 18 kills while Madison followed closely with 16. Freshman McKala Rhodes, who made her debut as the Cougars' libero, collected 32 digs – a match-high. Mackenzie Cooler posted 32 assists as Allison Beckman added 15.
CofC (8-7, 0-1) returns to action Oct. 1 at TD Arena as it hosts Hofstra.
For more information on College of Charleston volleyball, visit CofCSports.com or follow the team on Twitter at @CofCVolleyball.
