TOWSON, Md. --- Junior Lexi Wierzbicki led all hitters with 19 kills and Gabi Bailey posted her 12^th double-double of the season as College of Charleston's comeback effort fell just short in a thrilling five-set battle with Hofstra in the quarterfinal round of the Colonial Athletic Association Championship on Thursday evening at SECU Arena.
 
No. 6 seed Hofstra (15-13) won the match by scores of 25-20, 25-18, 22-25, 24-26 and 15-13 to advance to Friday's semifinal round against second-seeded Elon. The Pride rallied from a 12-9 deficit in the fifth set after Charleston (16-12) fought back from a 2-0 deficit to force the decisive fifth frame. Hofstra finished the match with 58 kills, 19 blocks and a .244 hitting percentage; Charleston combined for 56 kills, seven blocks, six aces and a .112 attacking clip.
 
Critical Point
With Charleston holding a 12-9 advantage in the fifth set, Hofstra bounced back with three straight points to even the tally at 12-12 on a miscue by the Cougars. The Pride would go on to win the set, 15-13, and survive the comeback attempt in a hard-fought five-set battle.
 
Key Cougars

• Wierzbicki reached double figures for the 12^th straight match with a match-high 19 kills on 51 swings. She also equaled her career-high with six digs to go along with three blocks.
• Bailey turned in her team-leading 12^th double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs in addition to a match-high three aces.
• Freshman Jasmin Goei accounted for a double-double of her own with 27 assists and 10 digs.
• Redshirt junior Claire Campbell chipped in eight kills and four blocks.

Game Notes

• The Cougars recorded 19 of their 56 kills in the fourth set and hit .304 in that frame.
• Senior Molly Russell contributed four kills and three blocks in her final match with the Cougars.
• Russell finishes her senior season with a .337 hitting percentage, which ranks sixth on the program's single-season list during the rally-scoring era. The Conroe, Texas native caps her career with 249 kills, 117 blocks and a .275 hitting percentage in 67 matches.
• Bailey concludes the season with 44 service aces which is tied for seventh on the single-season list (rally-scoring era) and is the highest individual season total since Ginny Phillips' mark of 53 in 2010.
• Senior Brooke Harris concludes her tenure as a Cougar having appeared in 142 sets across 51 matches with 376 assists, 230 digs and 20 service aces.

Up Next
The Cougars are expected to return 17 letter-winners from this year's squad including rising seniors Tori Carpenter, Logan Pope, Emma Falk, Caroline Pender, Cat Scmid, Bailey, Wierzbicki and Campbell.