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.
 
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.
 
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)
 
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.
 
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.

 
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.

 
Up Next
Charleston and William & Mary wrap up their two-match series Sunday with first serve set for 2 p.m.