Thursday, November 16
Towson, Md.
4 PM
College of Charleston
vs
Stony Brook
CAA Tournament Begins Thursday for Charleston
11/15/2023 3:31:00 PM | Volleyball
TOWSON, Md. – Fourth-seeded College of Charleston starts a new season as the regular season ended with an emphatic 6-0 weekend sweep of Hampton. The postseason begins with fifth-seeded Stony Brook Thursday afternoon in the CAA Volleyball quarterfinals from Towson University.
Both teams enter the tournament red hot combining for 11-consecutive wins to close the regular season and finish at exactly 11-7 in CAA play. Charleston won the tiebreak over the Seawolves despite splitting a weekend series to earn the No. 4 seed. Thursday's matchup pits the top-two in the CAA in digs/set with Charleston leading the way at 16.18 and Stony Brook right behind with 15.82.
In their regular season meetings, Charleston and Stony Brook split 3-0 sweeps in late September. The first two sets in both matches came down to the wire before each side closed out the third in dominant fashion. Stony Brook outhit Charleston .197 to .180 and has twice as many blocks to force the split.
The Cougars and Seawolves have met just four times – all since Stony Brook joined the CAA prior to the 2022 season. The Cougars took the first three meetings by a 9-1 margin before the Seawolves swept the fourth meeting in late September. Thursday's matchup is the first between the Cougars and Seawolves in the postseason.
Weekend Schedule
#4 Charleston vs. #5 Stony Brook | November 16 at 4:00 p.m.
Video: FloVolleyball
Live Stats: CofCstats.com
Cougars on Social Media: Twitter // Instagram
Charleston went 2-0 at Hampton to push the season-best win streak to five, taking all six sets played against the Pirates. Lexi Wierzbicki led the Cougars with 20 kills and four service aces with her eighth double-double in Saturday's win with 10 kills and 12 digs. Anna Smith hit a career-high .545 landing 14 kills on just 22 swings Saturday headlining a Charleston attack that hit a season-best .421 overall. Tynley Smeltzer led the Cougar backline with 24 digs as Hampton hit just .089 with 39 errors in just six sets.
Charleston seeks their second CAA Tournament title in program history riding a five-match win streak dating back to the final weekend of November. A win on Thursday against No. 5 Stony Brook sets up a date with No. 1 seed and host Towson Friday in the semifinals. Should the Cougars make it to the Championship match Saturday night at 7 p.m. they will take on the winner from the other half of the bracket – No. 2 Delaware, No. 3 Campbell or No. 6 Northeastern.
Tynley Smeltzer enters the CAA Tournament just seven digs shy of 1,000 in her career sitting at 993. She will become the 22nd Cougar to reach the milestone and the first since current assistant coach Lauren Freed did so her senior season in 2019. Smeltzer was head-and-shoulders above the rest of the league in digs/set once CAA play began digging above 5 balls per set, earning the 2023 CAA Libero of the Year and first team spot. Lexi Wierzbicki was also recognized as a second team member in her first season as a six rotation outside hitter.
COUGARS IN THE POSTSEASON
Charleston is 7-8 all-time in the CAA Postseason with a tournament championship in 2013 and four championship match appearances. Last season saw the Cougars fall to No. 3 seed Delaware in five sets after grabbing an early lead. Lexi Wierzbicki paced the Cougar attack in each of the last two postseasons putting down 19 kills both matches. Jasmin Goei led the Cougars at the pivot with 27 assists and Tynley Smeltzer dug out 22 balls against the Blue Hens last season.
Charleston is 2-0 all-time against the No. 5 seed in the CAA Tournament defeating Hofstra both times. The Cougars earned the No. 4 seed this season for the first time in program history. Should Charleston come away victorious Thursday, they will take on top-seeded Towson, who the Cougars hold an 0-1 record against head-to-head.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Stony Brook (16-13, 11-7 CAA) is one of the hottest teams entering the CAA Tournament having won their final six matches capped off by a 6-0 weekend sweep of Long Island rival Hofstra, slamming the door shut on the Pride's postseason outlook. The Seawolves ended the regular season second in the league in digs/set behind only Charleston and second in service aces/set (2.01) behind only Hofstra.
Kali Moore led the Seawolves and finished fifth in the CAA in kills/set (3.22), Torri Henry paced the CAA in assists (10.67) earning Setter of the Year and Julia Patsos finished second in digs/set over the full season (4.23).
Both teams enter the tournament red hot combining for 11-consecutive wins to close the regular season and finish at exactly 11-7 in CAA play. Charleston won the tiebreak over the Seawolves despite splitting a weekend series to earn the No. 4 seed. Thursday's matchup pits the top-two in the CAA in digs/set with Charleston leading the way at 16.18 and Stony Brook right behind with 15.82.
In their regular season meetings, Charleston and Stony Brook split 3-0 sweeps in late September. The first two sets in both matches came down to the wire before each side closed out the third in dominant fashion. Stony Brook outhit Charleston .197 to .180 and has twice as many blocks to force the split.
The Cougars and Seawolves have met just four times – all since Stony Brook joined the CAA prior to the 2022 season. The Cougars took the first three meetings by a 9-1 margin before the Seawolves swept the fourth meeting in late September. Thursday's matchup is the first between the Cougars and Seawolves in the postseason.
Weekend Schedule
#4 Charleston vs. #5 Stony Brook | November 16 at 4:00 p.m.
Video: FloVolleyball
Live Stats: CofCstats.com
Cougars on Social Media: Twitter // Instagram
Charleston went 2-0 at Hampton to push the season-best win streak to five, taking all six sets played against the Pirates. Lexi Wierzbicki led the Cougars with 20 kills and four service aces with her eighth double-double in Saturday's win with 10 kills and 12 digs. Anna Smith hit a career-high .545 landing 14 kills on just 22 swings Saturday headlining a Charleston attack that hit a season-best .421 overall. Tynley Smeltzer led the Cougar backline with 24 digs as Hampton hit just .089 with 39 errors in just six sets.
Charleston seeks their second CAA Tournament title in program history riding a five-match win streak dating back to the final weekend of November. A win on Thursday against No. 5 Stony Brook sets up a date with No. 1 seed and host Towson Friday in the semifinals. Should the Cougars make it to the Championship match Saturday night at 7 p.m. they will take on the winner from the other half of the bracket – No. 2 Delaware, No. 3 Campbell or No. 6 Northeastern.
Tynley Smeltzer enters the CAA Tournament just seven digs shy of 1,000 in her career sitting at 993. She will become the 22nd Cougar to reach the milestone and the first since current assistant coach Lauren Freed did so her senior season in 2019. Smeltzer was head-and-shoulders above the rest of the league in digs/set once CAA play began digging above 5 balls per set, earning the 2023 CAA Libero of the Year and first team spot. Lexi Wierzbicki was also recognized as a second team member in her first season as a six rotation outside hitter.
COUGARS IN THE POSTSEASON
Charleston is 7-8 all-time in the CAA Postseason with a tournament championship in 2013 and four championship match appearances. Last season saw the Cougars fall to No. 3 seed Delaware in five sets after grabbing an early lead. Lexi Wierzbicki paced the Cougar attack in each of the last two postseasons putting down 19 kills both matches. Jasmin Goei led the Cougars at the pivot with 27 assists and Tynley Smeltzer dug out 22 balls against the Blue Hens last season.
Charleston is 2-0 all-time against the No. 5 seed in the CAA Tournament defeating Hofstra both times. The Cougars earned the No. 4 seed this season for the first time in program history. Should Charleston come away victorious Thursday, they will take on top-seeded Towson, who the Cougars hold an 0-1 record against head-to-head.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Stony Brook (16-13, 11-7 CAA) is one of the hottest teams entering the CAA Tournament having won their final six matches capped off by a 6-0 weekend sweep of Long Island rival Hofstra, slamming the door shut on the Pride's postseason outlook. The Seawolves ended the regular season second in the league in digs/set behind only Charleston and second in service aces/set (2.01) behind only Hofstra.
Kali Moore led the Seawolves and finished fifth in the CAA in kills/set (3.22), Torri Henry paced the CAA in assists (10.67) earning Setter of the Year and Julia Patsos finished second in digs/set over the full season (4.23).
Players Mentioned
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