ATLANTA, Ga. --- Lauren Freed (Troy, Ohio) recorded a double-double to pace three players with double-digits in kills,
Mandy Napierala (Rochester, N.Y.) collected a match-high nine blocks, and head coach
Jason Kepner tied the program's all-time wins mark as the College of Charleston volleyball team rallied for a 3-1 victory over St. John's in the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship on Thursday evening.
"I'm excited we got to play in the postseason," Kepner said. "Overall, I'm very happy with our performance. I thought it was a great all-around effort. We faced a good St. John's team that played a lot of tough matches in the Big East, and were able to make plays when we needed to."
With the win, College of Charleston (22-11) advances to Friday's second round, where the Cougars will square off against the winner of Georgia Tech and University of South Florida at 7:00 pm on the campus of Georgia Tech. The Cougars combined for 62 kills, 74 digs, 10 blocks, and a .270 hitting percentage while holding St. John's (23-12) to 52 kills, 65 digs, five blocks, and a .176 attacking clip.
Freed paced the Cougars with 18 kills, 16 digs, and a .308 hitting percentage (18-6-39), as
Devon Rachel (Louisville, Ky.) put down 18 kills to go along with eight digs, three blocks, one service ace, and a .319 attacking clip (18-3-47).
Kennedy Madison (Evansville, Ind.) finished with 15 kills, five blocks, and a .286 hitting percentage (15-3-42).
Napierala continued her strong play with five kills and a match- and career-high nine blocks; Beckman posted her 24th career 50-assist outing with 55, and added seven digs and a solo block.
McKala Rhodes (Charleston, S.C.) collected a match-high 27 digs as
Logan Manusky (San Diego, Calif.) chipped in nine.
Rachele Rastelli led the way for St. John's with 17 kills, three blocks, and a .324 attacking clip (17-5-37), as Efrosini Alexakou added a double-double with 16 kills and 13 digs. Erica Di Maulo tallied 43 assists, eight digs, three kills, and two blocks. Amanda Sanabia paced the defense with 27 digs.
The Cougars now advance to Friday's second round, and will face the winner of Thursday's Georgia Tech/USF match at 7:00 pm in O'Keefe Gymnasium.
