Cougars Drop Pair To No. 16 Kentucky, Kansas Friday

Friday, August 31

Lexington, Ky.

6:30 PM

College of Charleston

2-3

Kansas

3-1

Kansas

Charleston

Cougars Drop Pair To No. 16 Kentucky, Kansas Friday

8/31/2018 9:32:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Kentucky Box Score (PDF)Kansas Box Score (PDF)

LEXINGTON, Ky. --- The No. 12 (VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll) College of Charleston volleyball team dropped a pair of hard-fought matches to No. 16 (AVCA) Kentucky and Kansas on the first day of Kentucky's Bluegrass Battle Friday.

Kentucky (1-3) defeated College of Charleston (2-3) by scores of 25-20, 25-27, 25-21, and 25-19 in both teams' first match of the day. The Cougars then fell to Kansas (3-1) by scores of 25-18, 15-25, 25-16, 11-25, and 14-16 as the Jayhawks fought back from a 2-1 deficit in the match.

No. 16 Kentucky 3, Charleston 1

The Wildcats outhit the Cougars, .277 to .208, in a closely contested battle, and finished the match with totals of 70 kills, 58 digs, eight blocks, and seven service aces. Charleston totaled 49 kills, 55 digs, nine blocks and two aces.

Kennedy Madison (Evansville, Ind.) paced the Cougar attack with 17 kills and three blocks, while Devon Rachel (Louisville, Ky.) added a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs. Lauren Freed (Troy, Ohio) finished one dig shy of a double-double with 13 kills and nine digs, as Allison Beckman (Apex, N.C.) recorded 41 assists, eight digs, and three blocks. McKala Rhodes (Charleston, S.C.) and Logan Manusky (San Diego, Calif.) chipped in 11 and nine digs, respectively.

Leah Edmond led three Wildcats in double figures with a match-high 25 kills, and added 13 digs to account for a double-double. Brooke Morgan and Avery Skinner tallied 15 and 11 kills, respectively, as Gabby Curry led all players with 18 digs. Madison Lilley dished out 57 assists to go along with four kills, four digs, and three blocks.

Kansas 3, Charleston 2

The Jayhawks outlasted the Cougars in a defensive battle, posting a .192 hitting percentage to go along with 52 kills, 65 digs, and 13 blocks while holding The College to a .099 attacking clip. Charleston totaled 54 kills, 64 digs, and seven blocks in the match.

Rachel and Freed each recorded 16 kills while both accounting for a double-double with 14 and 12 digs, respectively. Madison finished in double figures for the fifth straight match to start the season with 14 kills; Beckman finished the night with 42 assists, seven digs, and four kills. Rhodes paced the Cougar defense with 16 digs.

Ashley Smith led the way for Kansas with 18 kills, while Camryn Ennis added a double-double with 29 assists and 12 digs. Mmachi Nwoke and Jada Burse chipped in 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while Lacey Angelo turned in a match-high 20 digs.

The Cougars close out the weekend at the Bluegrass Battle with a 1:00 pm matchup against Dayton on Saturday afternoon in Kentucky's Memorial Coliseum.