Charleston Heads to Durham for Duke Invitational

Friday, September 3

Durham, N.C.

12:00 PM

College of Charleston

Miami (OH)

9/2/2021 9:02:00 PM | Volleyball

Duke Invitational Notes (PDF)

CHARLESTON, S.C. --- Fresh off a season-opening tournament win at the CofC Invitational, the College of Charleston volleyball team heads to Durham, N.C. to take on Howard, Miami (Ohio) and Duke at the Duke Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Cougars bounced back from a season-opening sweep at the hands of Eastern Michigan on Friday with three consecutive 3-1 wins over Kennesaw State, Indiana State and Montana to capture the CofC Invitational Championship.

Weekend Schedule
Match One: College of Charleston (3-1) vs. Miami (Ohio) (0-3) // Friday, September 3 at 12:00 p.m.
Match Two: College of Charleston (3-1) vs. Howard (2-1) /// Friday, September 3 at 5:00 p.m.
Match Three: College of Charleston (3-1) vs. Duke (3-0) /// Saturday, September 4 at 2:30 p.m.

Video: ACC Network X (Subscription to ACC Network required)
Live Stats: GoDuke.com
Cougars on Social Media: Twitter // Instagram

QUICK HITTERS

Sophomore Sammy Campion stepped in as the Cougars' libero in the second match of the weekend and delivered a trio of sensational performances averaging 4.77 digs per set to earn both CofC Invitational all-tournament and CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Redshirt senior Claire Campbell put together a stellar weekend at the net averaging 2.53 kills per set to go along with 10 blocks and a .411 hitting percentage. The Raleigh, N.C. native put down 10 kills on 19 swings without an error in Sunday's 3-1 win over Montana to earn CofC Invitational All-Tournament MVP honors.
Junior Gabi Bailey led the team with 44 kills and eight service aces including a match-high 17 kills in the Cougars' 3-1 win over Montana on Sunday. The Harvard, Mass. native posted CofC's first double-double of the season with 13 kills and 14 digs against Kennesaw State on Saturday.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

Duke carries an unblemished 3-0 record into the weekend following wins over Coastal Carolina, Iowa and Elon thus far. Four Blue Devils are averaging at least two kills per set this season, led by Ade Owokoniran with a clip of 3.00 per frame. Lizzie Fleming paces Duke with a .421 while averaging 2.62 kills per set; Mackenzie Cole leads the back row with an average of 4.38 digs per frame.
Howard enters the Duke Invitational with a 2-1 mark after defeating George Washington and Georgetown to open the season. Jennifer Bolden and Bria Woodard are each averaging more than three kills per set for a squad averaging 12.10 kills per frame. Taylor Johnson leads the defense at four digs per set; Busisiwe Banda has accounted for seven of the Bison's 24 service aces thus far.
Miami is still searching for its first win of the season after dropping three straight to Austin Peay, Alabama and Marshall to open the campaign. Sophie Riemserma has put down a team-high 29 kills thus far for an average of 2.23 per set while Taylor Nomanson has accounted for 32 digs in only six sets (5.33 per set).

QUOTABLE
"I am excited to go on the road with this group and see how we perform in a neutral and hostile environment. We improved so much every match this past weekend and I look forward to seeing if we can continue that trend at Duke. This will be a great challenge but I feel this group is ready and excited." – head coach Jason Kepner