CHARLESTON, S.C. --- College of Charleston volleyball swept away rival UNCW Saturday afternoon (25-20, 25-19, 25-16) behind a balanced attack and stingy defense, extending their win streak in the rivalry to five.
 
Both teams came out of the gate unable to piece together runs or momentum, but the home Cougars showed grit to close out the first game on a 4-1 run and hold the Seahawks to a negative attack percentage. Set two saw more of the same with neither side getting out ahead by more than four until a 4-0 Charleston run made it 18-12 thanks to a Sopheea Mink kill and three UNCW errors.
 
Charleston put their foot on the gas to close out set three and the match behind a 7-0 run that made a 13-12 lead a 20-12 advantage.
 
Lexi Wierzbicki, Sofie Vogel, Sopheea Mink and Anna Smith all had 7-plus kills for the Charleston attack while Tynley Smeltzer, Wierzbicki and Elli Kinney all had double digit digs to hold UNCW to just .119 in the sweep. Charleston's 75 digs were the third-most in a three-set match in the rally scoring era and just the third time digging 70-plus balls in a three-set match.
 
QUICK SETS
Final Score: Charleston 3, UNCW 0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-16)
Location: TD Arena
Records: Charleston (6-12, 3-4 CAA), UNCW (8-9, 5-2 CAA)
 
Key Cougars

• Lexi Wierzbicki finished just one kill shy of a double-double landing nine to go with 16 digs, tied for a team-high.
• Tynley Smeltzer was tied with Wierzbicki for the team lead at 16 digs to continue her 5-plus digs-per-set average in CAA play.
• Sofie Vogel and Sopheea Mink combined for 15 kills and each hit over .300 for the Cougars as Vogel tied her career mark with five digs defensively.
• Anna Smith added seven kills, six digs and a block, four of her kills coming in the third and final set to help Charleston slam the door shut. 

Match Notes

• Charleston's 75 digs Saturday are the third-most in a three-set match since the rally-scoring era began. It was also the third time Charleston had 70-plus digs in a three-set match.
• Charleston's defense has held opponents below .200 in five of their seven CAA matches to this point.
• The Cougars extended their win streak over the Seahawks to five with the win, their third such streak in series history.
• Charleston has won their last three Saturday matches moving to 3-1 in their CAA weekend-opening matches.
• Saturday was the fifth sweep in the Cougars' favor this season and second in CAA play.

Up Next
Charleston and UNCW conclude their rivalry weekend Sunday afternoon with a first serve time of 1 PM inside TD Arena.