Saturday, November 4
Charleston, S.C.
1 PM
College of Charleston
vs
Hofstra
Photo by: AlSamuels.com
Charleston Hosts Hofstra on Senior Weekend
11/3/2023 9:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TD Arena Clear Bag Policy // Visitors Guide
CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston and Hofstra battle as November starts and only four regular season matches remain before the 2023 CAA Championship in Towson, Md. running Nov. 16-18.
The Pride currently holds a playoff spot and can clinch a berth this weekend with two wins and some help. Meanwhile, the Cougars are in a four-way tie for the sixth and final spot with Stony Brook, UNCW and William & Mary, and are just one game behind the Pride. A pair of wins from the Cougars this weekend will boost their chances at claiming a spot in Towson with winless Hampton on the schedule next weekend.
Key performances all-around helped Charleston split last weekend at Northeastern as Lexi Wierzbicki had 20 kills, Tynley Smeltzer added 27 digs and Emma Appleman had a career day with 48 assists. The win kept the Cougars in that final CAA Championship spot at 7-7 with a current tiebreak over UNCW, split with Stony Brook and tiebreak loss with William & Mary.
Charleston and Hofstra have met 23 times since the Cougars joined the CAA in fall 2013 with five matchups coming in the postseason. The Pride has gotten the better of the Cougars in recent years but Charleston rides a two-match win streak inside TD Arena sweeping the regular season series in 2021.
Weekend Schedule
Charleston vs Hofstra | November 4 at 1:00 PM
Charleston vs Hofstra | November 5 at 12:00 PM
Video: FloVolleyball
Live Stats: CofCstats.com
Cougars on Social Media: Twitter // Instagram
Charleston will honor three seniors prior to Sunday's match against the Pride – Lexi Wierzbicki, Sofie Vogel and Sopheea Mink. Vogel and Wierzbicki have spent the last four seasons with the program while Mink came in prior to the 2023 season as a graduate transfer from High Point.
Wierzbicki is just 55 kills from 1000 in her Charleston career (she had over 300 as a freshman at Jacksonville and has nearly 1300 in her collegiate career) and can become just the 20th member of the 1K Kill Club at Charleston. Vogel recorded her 100th career block earlier this season and is enjoying a breakout season as the primary middle blocker with career-best numbers across the board. Mink came in and started right away as the right side hitter and has posted career-best numbers in kills, digs and points in her lone season as a Cougar.
Charleston teams have finished the regular season strong under head coach Jason Kepner going 14-2 in their home finale since he took over. Since the CAA changed their conference season format to two-game weekends in Spring 2021, the Cougars are 6-0 on Senior Weekends with wins over Elon, UNCW and North Carolina A&T. Including the final series, the Cougars are 17-2 under Coach Kepner on the final home weekend of the regular season.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Hofstra (18-7, 8-6 CAA) went 2-0 cooling off what was a red-hot Campbell squad over the weekend in their first-ever meetings on the hardwood. The Pride topped the Camels in straight sets Saturday before gutting-out a five-set victory Sunday. Beatriz Alves recorded 84 assists (10.50/set) and 17 digs (2.13/set) as the junior setter tallied her sixth double-double of the season in the Sunday finale (48, 10). Alves has 40 assists 15 times this season to lead the Pride at the pivot.
Yagmur Cinel paced the Hofstra attack, recording 26 kills (3.25/set) on a .352 hitting percentage. Cinel reached double figures in both contests, with 11 kills on Saturday and 15 Sunday.
FAN INFO
CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston and Hofstra battle as November starts and only four regular season matches remain before the 2023 CAA Championship in Towson, Md. running Nov. 16-18.
The Pride currently holds a playoff spot and can clinch a berth this weekend with two wins and some help. Meanwhile, the Cougars are in a four-way tie for the sixth and final spot with Stony Brook, UNCW and William & Mary, and are just one game behind the Pride. A pair of wins from the Cougars this weekend will boost their chances at claiming a spot in Towson with winless Hampton on the schedule next weekend.
Key performances all-around helped Charleston split last weekend at Northeastern as Lexi Wierzbicki had 20 kills, Tynley Smeltzer added 27 digs and Emma Appleman had a career day with 48 assists. The win kept the Cougars in that final CAA Championship spot at 7-7 with a current tiebreak over UNCW, split with Stony Brook and tiebreak loss with William & Mary.
Charleston and Hofstra have met 23 times since the Cougars joined the CAA in fall 2013 with five matchups coming in the postseason. The Pride has gotten the better of the Cougars in recent years but Charleston rides a two-match win streak inside TD Arena sweeping the regular season series in 2021.
Weekend Schedule
Charleston vs Hofstra | November 4 at 1:00 PM
Charleston vs Hofstra | November 5 at 12:00 PM
Video: FloVolleyball
Live Stats: CofCstats.com
Cougars on Social Media: Twitter // Instagram
Charleston will honor three seniors prior to Sunday's match against the Pride – Lexi Wierzbicki, Sofie Vogel and Sopheea Mink. Vogel and Wierzbicki have spent the last four seasons with the program while Mink came in prior to the 2023 season as a graduate transfer from High Point.
Wierzbicki is just 55 kills from 1000 in her Charleston career (she had over 300 as a freshman at Jacksonville and has nearly 1300 in her collegiate career) and can become just the 20th member of the 1K Kill Club at Charleston. Vogel recorded her 100th career block earlier this season and is enjoying a breakout season as the primary middle blocker with career-best numbers across the board. Mink came in and started right away as the right side hitter and has posted career-best numbers in kills, digs and points in her lone season as a Cougar.
Charleston teams have finished the regular season strong under head coach Jason Kepner going 14-2 in their home finale since he took over. Since the CAA changed their conference season format to two-game weekends in Spring 2021, the Cougars are 6-0 on Senior Weekends with wins over Elon, UNCW and North Carolina A&T. Including the final series, the Cougars are 17-2 under Coach Kepner on the final home weekend of the regular season.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Hofstra (18-7, 8-6 CAA) went 2-0 cooling off what was a red-hot Campbell squad over the weekend in their first-ever meetings on the hardwood. The Pride topped the Camels in straight sets Saturday before gutting-out a five-set victory Sunday. Beatriz Alves recorded 84 assists (10.50/set) and 17 digs (2.13/set) as the junior setter tallied her sixth double-double of the season in the Sunday finale (48, 10). Alves has 40 assists 15 times this season to lead the Pride at the pivot.
Yagmur Cinel paced the Hofstra attack, recording 26 kills (3.25/set) on a .352 hitting percentage. Cinel reached double figures in both contests, with 11 kills on Saturday and 15 Sunday.
FAN INFO
- Admission is free of charge for all College of Charleston volleyball matches at TD Arena.
- Gates will open one hour prior to first serve of the opening match each day.
- College of Charleston's clear bag policy is in effect for all matches played at TD Arena this fall. The full policy can be found here.
- There is no designated general parking area for games at TD Arena. There are various parking garages and paid lots in the vicinity of TD Arena that all spectators can utilize.
- Alcohol will be available for purchase at all CofC volleyball matches this fall with last call prior to the third set of the final match each day.
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Volleyball
OH/DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
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