NEWARK, DEL. – Kennedy Madison (Evansville, Ind.) and Devon Rachel (Louisville, Ky.) combined for 17 kills each, and Riana Brennan (Los Gatos, Calif.) added her fourth double-double in five matches to lead the College of Charleston volleyball team to a five-set win at Delaware Sunday in Colonial Athletic Association play.
 
With the win, College of Charleston (11-5, 4-0 CAA) extends its win streak to five overall and remains atop the CAA standings with the conference's only remaining unblemished record. The loss drops Delaware to 6-11 overall and 0-4 in CAA action.
 
The Cougars combined for 64 kills, 13 blocks and an even 100 digs in a defensive battle Sunday, while Charleston limited Delaware to 40 kills and a .073 hitting percentage. The Blue Hens also tallied 81 digs and 13 blocks.
 
Madison and Rachel each posted a match-high 17 kills to pace four Cougars in double figures, as Rachel finished with 26 digs - two shy of her career-high. Brennan recorded a double-double of her own with 11 kills and a season-high 18 digs, while Maddie Hills (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) put down 12 kills to go along with six blocks.
 
Allison Beckman (Apex, N.C.) dished out 30 assists, while Elizabeth Hurring (Ocean Springs, Miss.) added a career-high 22 assists of her own. McKala Rhodes (Charleston, S.C.) led the defense with 32 digs – two shy of tying her career-high.
 
Autumn Jenkins led the way for Delaware with 12 kills and 18 digs, as Maria Bellinger added 13 digs and nine smashes. Kori Rasmussen chipped 17 digs while Julia Anderson and Liz Tobey each dished out 14 assists.
 
The Cougar offense got off to a strong start in the opening set with 16 kills on 41 swings – including back-to-back smashes by Madison and Peyton Eisnaugle (Dallas, Texas) that gave Charleston a 9-6 lead early in the frame. Back-to-back kills from Hills and Rachel would stretch the advantage to 18-11, before Eisnaugle and Hills combined for a pair of smashes to push the Blue Hens to set point at 24-14.
 
Delaware answered with five straight points to force a Charleston timeout, and cut the lead to 24-19. Rachel shut the door on the first set moments later with a smash to give the Cougars a 1-0 advantage in the match.
 
The Blue Hens fought back with a 7-2 run early in the second set, and opened a 12-6 lead on a solo stuff by Daria Robinson. Charleston would answer with a 9-3 surge, which was capped by a Hills smash and a Blue Hens miscue to even the tally at 15-15.
 
A 6-3 spurt in response gave the Blue Hens a 21-18 advantage, before the Cougars countered with four straight points to take their first lead of the set, 22-21, since the score read 4-3. Delaware quickly took a timeout, and come out of the break to score four of the next five points to even the match at 1-1.
 
The Blue Hens carried the momentum into the third with a 6-1 run to force an early Cougar timeout. Charleston responded with a 7-4 spurt to put the brakes on the Blue Hens for a moment, and cut the lead to 10-8 on a smash from Brennan. Seven straight points would swing the momentum back to Delaware, giving the Blue Hens a 17-8 advantage before three consecutive tallies pushed the margin to 21-12 moments later.
 
The Cougars would not be deterred, as Hills spearheaded Charleston on an 11-2 run in response to even the tally at 23-23 following a smash from Jane Feddersen (Leesburg, Va.). A Cougar miscue brought the spurt to an end and gave the Blue Hens a chance at set point, 24-23. Delaware took full advantage with a kill from Jenkins to claim a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Charleston wasted little time responding in the fourth, and forced Delaware into an early timeout with five straight points to open the set. After the Blue Hens answered with four of the next five, the Cougars countered with a 6-1 spurt to push the margin to 12-5 on back-to-back Delaware miscues. The Cougars would keep the Blue Hens are arm's length for the remainder of the frame, and stretched the lead to as many as 13 on their way to a 25-12 victory.
 
The start of the fifth set was a near carbon copy of the fourth, with an emphatic smash from Madison punctuating a 6-0 Cougar run to open the frame. Charleston's opening surge also forced Delaware to burn both its timeouts before recording a point.
 
The Blue Hens were on their heels for the remainder of the set, and never closed to within four as Charleston claimed the frame, 15-8, on back-to-back smashes from Brennan and Madison.
 
Charleston continues its CAA road schedule next weekend at William & Mary on Friday, October 7 at 7 p.m., followed by an afternoon clash with James Madison on Sunday, October 9 at 1 p.m.