WILLIAMSBURG Va. --- College of Charleston volleyball forced a fifth set after falling behind 2-1 Saturday to William & Mary, but the home Tribe took the final set for a 3-2 (24-26, 25-22, 25-13, 16-25, 15-10) decision to open CAA play.
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Lexi Wierzbicki stuffed the stats sheet with 20 kills, eight digs and a career-best eight blocks while
Anna Smith added 17 kills of her own and two blocks for Charleston (3-9, 0-1 CAA). William & Mary (6-5, 1-0 CAA) got 23 kills from Taylor Burrell and six service aces – three from Amy Schwem – in the five-set battle. Both sides hit exactly .185 and had 71 digs but the Tribe used a 6-0 start in the fifth set to fend off Charleston's comeback effort.
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QUICK SETS
Final Score: William & Mary 3, Charleston 2 (24-26, 25-22, 25-13, 16-25, 15-10)
Location: Williamsburg, Va. (Kaplan Arena)
Records: Charleston (3-9, 0-1 CAA), William & Mary (6-5, 1-0 CAA)
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Critical Point
After Charleston dominated the fourth set 25-16 and forced a decisive fifth, William & Mary built a 6-0 lead and won the final stanza by a 15-10 margin.
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Key Cougars
- Lexi Wierzbicki littered the stat sheet Saturday recording a team-high 20 kills with eight digs and career-best eight blocks. Wierzbicki delivered three-straight kills helping Charleston turn a 24-23 first set deficit into a 26-24 win and 1-0 start to the day.
- Anna Smith had a season-high 17 kills and hit a team-high .286 in the five-set loss delivering clutch kills to halt Tribe momentum throughout the final three sets.
- Sofie Vogel recorded eight kills and added five blocks with three kills and two blocks coming in the fourth set.
- Bella Sinacori matched her career-high with four blocks deterring William & Mary attempts left and right in the opening set. The sophomore middle blocker added a trio of kills on 11 swings.
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Match Notes
- Charleston played their first five-set match of the season after all 11 nonconference matches were decided in three and four sets.
- Lexi Wierzbicki and Anna Smith became the first pair of Cougars to put down 15-plus kills in the same match this season.
- Wierzbicki's 20 kills were the second time the graduate outside hitter reached the 20-kill mark this season – both coming on the road. She also had a career-best 8 blocks with four coming in a dominant 25-16 Charleston fourth-set win.
- Tynley Smeltzer became the second Cougar with 20 digs in a match leading the way with 26 Saturday.
- Saturday marked the eighth time Charleston won the opening set of a match.
- Charleston recorded 11 total blocks, the third time reaching double figures this season.
- The Cougars and Tribe finished with the exact same attack percentage (.185) and digs (71), the first time Charleston finished even in both categories with their opponent.
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Up Next
Charleston and William & Mary wrap up their two-match series Sunday with first serve set for 2 p.m.