CHARLESTON, S.C. --- Juniors Gabi Bailey and Lexi Wierzbicki combined for 21 kills to lead the College of Charleston to a sweep of UNCW on Saturday afternoon in TD Arena to clinch the third seed in the 2021 Colonial Athletic Association Championship. Seniors Brooke Harris and Molly Russell marked their Senior Day with seven assists and seven kills, respectively.
 
With the win, Charleston (16-11, 9-7 CAA) secures its fifth season sweep of UNCW (4-23, 3-13 CAA) and advances to the quarterfinal round of the CAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Cougars won Sunday's match by scores of 25-23, 25-13 and 27-25 while combining for 41 kills, eight blocks, eight service aces and a .197 hitting percentage. Charleston held the Seahawks to 29 kills, four aces and a .102 attacking clip.
 
Critical Point
After UNCW erased a five-point deficit and took a 21-20 advantage in the third set, Charleston answered with seven of the next 11 points to take the set, 27-25, and complete the sweep on a match-clinching block by Russell and Wierzbicki.
 
Key Cougars

• Russell marked her Senior Day with seven kills and three blocks while hitting a blistering .455.
• Harris got the Senior Day start at setter and posted seven assists with three digs in the opening frame.
• Bailey paced the attack with a match-high 11 kills while adding 10 digs to account for her team-leading 11^th double-double of the season. She also added a contest-best three aces.
• Wierzbicki reached double figures for the 11^th straight match with 10 kills on 27 swings.
• Freshman Tynley Smeltzer recorded match-high 15 digs to go along with four kills, two blocks and an ace. 

Game Notes

• The Cougars totaled 30 of their 41 kills in the first and third sets hitting .262 with 16 kills in the final frame.
• Junior Caroline Pender set a new career-high while equaling Bailey's match-best total of three aces.
• Redshirt junior Claire Campbell paced the blocking corps with five stuffs to go along with four kills.
• Charleston held the Seahawks to seven kills and a -.032 hitting percentage in the second set.
• The Cougars also honored team manager Lilly McGonegal's contributions to the program during their pre-match Senior Day ceremony.

Up Next
The Cougars now advance to the 2021 CAA Championship where they will take on No. 6 seed Hofstra on Thursday, November 18 at 6:30 p.m. at SECU Arena in Towson, Md. Fans can purchase tickets to the championship here.