CHARLESTON, S.C. --- College of Charleston volleyball battled back from another pair of deficits Sunday to earn a 3-2 (18-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 15-12) win over rival Elon and weekend sweep. The comeback win finished off a perfect 4-0 mark inside TD Arena in the month of October.
 
Deadlocked in a 12-12 tie in the final set, Emma Appleman landed her lone kill of the match on a dump to ignite the final 3-0 Charleston run. Lexi Wierzbicki had her second service ace to make it 14-12 before Brynn Whitehair dug a ball then was rewarded with the final attack sending it down the left sideline and completing the gut-check win.
 
Lexi Wierzbicki had another stat sheet-stuffing day leading the way with 14 kills, 14 digs, two service aces and four blocks for her fifth double-double of the season. Sopheea Mink added 12 kills and four blocks and Sofie Vogel hit .556 landing 11 kills with three blocks in the win. Anna Smith tallied nine kills and eight digs with a pair of blocks, Morgan Cobb added eight kills and Bella Sinacori provided a defensive spark in the fourth and fifth sets with her team-best and career-high five blocks.
 
Tynley Smeltzer led the Cougar backline once again with 19 digs as Wierzbicki added 14 and Emma Appleman had 10 – along with 23 assists for her 17th career double-double – to hold a pesky Elon attack to just .155 including a negative mark in the fourth set.
 
Sydney Love led the Phoenix (3-18, 0-12 CAA) with 18 kills and Keira Kasten added 10 for their second 1-0 lead in a match in as many days, but it was the resilient Cougars who battled back for three wins over the next four sets.
 
QUICK SETS
Final Score: Charleston 3, Elon 2 (18-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 15-12)
Location: TD Arena
Records: Charleston (9-14, 6-6 CAA), Elon (3-18, 0-12 CAA)
 
Key Cougars

• Lexi Wierzbicki led the way with 14 kills, 14 digs, two aces and four blocks. Two of her four blocks came in the fourth set as the Cougars held the Phoenix to -.053 and force the decisive fifth.
• Bella Sinacori added that defensive spark over the final two games blocking four in that fourth set and adding one more for good measure in the fifth for her career-best five-block day. Sunday was the second time this season the sophomore had four blocks in a single set, doing so in a five-set match at William & Mary the opening weekend of conference play.
• Sopheea Mink put down 12 kills and added four blocks, six of her 12 kills came in that crucial fourth set that kept the match alive for Charleston.
• Sofie Vogel had 11 kills and hit .556 on the day with only one error and three blocks on the defensive side of the ball.
• Anna Smith came close to her first double-double of the season with nine kills and eight digs adding a pair of blocks as well.
• Morgan Cobb finished the day with eight kills and a pair of digs landing seven of her kills in the middle three sets.
• Emma Appleman and Jasmin Goei provided a combined 44 assists as Appleman secured her 17^th career double-double with 23 assists and 11 digs. Her lone kill in the fifth sparked Charleston's 3-0 run to close out the match.
• Tynley Smeltzer added 19 digs and four assists in the comeback win giving the junior libero 41 on the weekend (4.56/set).
• Brynn Whitehair added two kills and three digs, none bigger than her final tally of each as she dug the final Elon attack attempt then sent a ball down the left sideline to end the match and home weekend sweep.

Match Notes

• Charleston moved to 33-5 all-time against the Phoenix with the win Sunday.
• Charleston went 4-0 at home in the month of October sweeping league rivals UNCW and Elon.
• Bella Sinacori had a career-best five blocks in the final two sets including four in the fourth set to shut down Elon's bid to end the match there.
• Emma Appleman and Lexi Wierzbicki each had a double-double in the win – Appleman securing her 17th as a Cougar and Wierzbicki's fifth of the season.
• Sunday was the ninth time in 12 league matches the Cougar defense has held their opponent below .200.
• Sunday's win was also the first match to go a full five sets at home this season, Charleston's previous three came on the road. All four Cougar matches to go the distance have come inside CAA play this season. 

Up Next
Charleston ships up to Boston with a crucial road series against Northeastern next weekend. Charleston enters the matchup just one game behind the Huskies for a spot in the 2023 CAA Volleyball Championships after their sweep of Elon and Northeastern's two losses to Campbell.