Balanced Effort Lifts Cougars Over Dukes, 3-1

Saturday, September 25

Harrisonburg, Va.

1:00 PM

College of Charleston

8-6,1-2CAA

at James Madison

8-3,2-1CAA

Col. of Charleston

James Madison

9/25/2021 4:17:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. --- Four players recorded at least 10 kills and a pair of Cougars posted a double-double as College of Charleston bounced back with a four-set win over James Madison in Colonial Athletic Association play on Saturday afternoon.

The teams split the first two sets by the narrowest of margins with Charleston (8-6, 1-2 CAA) taking set one, 27-25, and James Madison (8-3, 2-1 CAA) evening the match with a 26-24 decision in the second frame. Charleston then claimed the next two sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-21 to pick up its first conference win of the season.

Critical Point
With James Madison holding a narrow 11-10 advantage in set three, Molly Russell slammed down her fifth kill of the match to ignite an 8-0 run for the Cougars. Charleston would go on to win the set by a comfortable nine-point margin and rally for a 25-21 victory in set four to claim the match.

Key Cougars

Freshman Anna Smith exploded for 13 kills in her first collegiate start and surpassed her season total of seven kills with eight in the opening set alone.
Fellow rookie Emma Appleman equaled her season-high of 47 assists and added 12 digs to account for her fifth double-double.
Junior Gabi Bailey recorded her team-high seventh double-double of the campaign with 10 digs and a match-high 15 kills.
Russell tallied 10 kills and three blocks while hitting a match-best .421.
Sophomore Rebeca Olariu stepped in as the Cougars' libero and chipped in match-highs of 16 digs and three service aces.

Game Notes

The Cougars snap an eight-match losing streak against the Dukes and pick up their first win against JMU since 2017.
Charleston put down a season-high 61 kills including 20 in the opening set.
Senior Claire Campbell delivered several key plays and finished the day with seven kills, seven digs, three blocks and a .333 hitting percentage.
Senior Brooke Harris contributed 12 digs from the back row while junior Lexi Wierzbicki chipped in 13 kills.
The Cougars limited the Dukes to 48 kills and a .134 hitting percentage on the day.

Up Next
The Cougars and Dukes will meet in the second match of the weekend series on Sunday afternoon. First serve is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Sinclair Gymnasium in Harrisonburg, Va.