PITTSBURGH, Pa. --- The No. 15 (VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll) College of Charleston volleyball team split a pair of four-set matches with Liberty and No. 9 (AVCA) Pittsburgh on Friday evening to kick off the Pitt Invite.
College of Charleston (8-5) rallied for a 28-30, 26-24, 26-24, 25-14 win over Liberty (3-8) to start the day before falling to No. 9 Pittsburgh (10-0) by scores of 16-25, 19-25, 25-22, 11-25 in the evening session.
Kennedy Madison (Evansville, Ind.) finished in double figures in each match to pace the Cougars with 29 kills on the day, while
Devon Rachel (Louisville, Ky.) and
Lauren Freed (Troy, Ohio) tallied 25 and 19 kills, respectively.
Allison Beckman (Apex, N.C.) totaled 82 assists on the day, while
McKala Rhodes (Charleston, S.C.) collected 19 digs to move into fifth on the program's all-time list.
College of Charleston 3, Liberty 1
The Cougars rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Liberty in four sets to start the day on Friday, hitting .297 as a team with 56 kills, 37 digs, and 11 blocks. Charleston held the Flames to a .246 hitting percentage as Liberty accumulated 58 kills, 33 digs, and nine blocks.
Rachel paced the Cougars with 16 kills, two service aces, two blocks, and a .333 hitting percentage, while Madison hit an even .500 with four blocks, four digs, and a match-high 17 kills.
Mandy Napierala (Rochester, N.Y.) added 12 kills and five blocks while hitting .435; Beckman narrowly missed a double-double with nine digs and a match-high 45 assists.
Jenna Culhan led the way for Liberty with 14 kills, while Casey Goodwin and Victoria Baptista added 11 and nine kills, respectively. Hannah Morris and Amaya Williams dished out 30 and 15 assists, respectively, as Anna Gragg chipped in seven kills and six blocks.
No. 9 Pittsburgh 3, College of Charleston 1
Pitt fought off the Cougars with a 25-16, 25-19, 22-25, 25-11 win to cap the day. The Panthers totaled 71 kills, 49 digs, and nine blocks while attacking at a .395 clip. Charleston finished the match with 44 kills, 32 digs, six blocks and a .215 hitting percentage.
Madison put down 12 kills and added three blocks to lead the Cougars, while Freed and Rachel collected 10 and nine kills, respectively.
Peyton Eisnaugle (Dallas, Texas) recorded seven kills, four blocks and a .545 hitting percentage. Beckman dished out 37 assists, and Rhodes finished with a team-high 13 digs.
Kayla Lund paced the Panthers with a match-high 23 kills, as Stephanie Williams collected 16 smashes. Layne Van Buskirk and Sabrina Starks added 11 and 10 kills, respectively, with Starks also recording a match-high six blocks. Kylee Levers and Kamalani Akeo dished out 29 and 27 assists, as Angela Seman finished with a match-high 21 digs.
The Cougars will close out the Pitt Invite with a 4:00 pm matchup against Liberty on Saturday afternoon.
