Charleston Begins Home Slate with CofC Classic

CHARLESTON, S.C – The College of Charleston volleyball team returns to TD Arena to host its first tournament of the season, beginning Friday, Sept. 6. The Cougars host Yale, USC Upstate and Pacific during the weekend action. Charleston is set to play seven of its next eight games inside TD Arena.

During Friday's home opener against Yale, the first 50 students in attendance will receive free ice cream.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE:

Friday, Sept. 6: vs. Yale at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 7: vs. USC Upstate 11 a.m.
Saturday., Sept. 7: vs. Pacific 7 p.m.

OPENING SERVE:

Charleston was victorious in its season opener versus Western Carolina, defeating the Catamounts in four sets, before losing the final two matches of the weekend against North Carolina and Cleveland State.
The Cougars registered 20 total blocks in the win, the most in a match since 2010 and most in a season opener spanning the last 25 years.
Emily Banitt tied her career high with 19 kills in the season opener while tallying her 15th career double-double (19 kills, 11 digs).
Olivia Angell recorded a career best 28 digs against Western Carolina.
CofC opened the season on the road for the first time since 2015.
Freshman Cole Crews made her collegiate debut in the opening weekend, starting in the first two contests.

Charleston enters the weekend with a 166-61 record inside TD Arena, good for a .731 win percentage.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:

Yale begins its 2024 season in the Holy City during the CofC Invitational, entering as the Ivy League favorite after garnering 14 of the league's 16 first-place votes. The Bulldogs finished the 2023 campaign going 21-4 and 14-0 in the Ivy League, winning back-to-back conference titles. Yale's head coach, Erin Appleman, is the mother of senior setter Emma Appleman.
USC Upstate lost all three games to begin its season at the UNCG Spartan Classic and most recently dropped its first midweek match in five sets to Furman. Ali Skayhan is in her second season as head coach of the Spartans. Allison Palmi leads the offense with 49 kills while Julia Gladhill has registered 81 digs through 18 sets, good for 4.50 digs per set.
Pacific won the middle game of the Rebel Challenge Tournament in Las Vegas, Nev. The Tigers beat Northwestern, 3-2. Greg Gibbons is in his 15th season at the helm, holding a 223-182 overall record. 2023 All-WCC First Team members Alexa Edwards and Jenna Heller headline Pacific's returners.

SERIES HISTORY:

The Cougars face Yale and Pacific for the first time in program history, joining Cleveland State and Utah Tech as programs The College had never faced.
Charleston faces USC Upstate for the fourth time in program history Saturday. The Cougars are 2-1 all time against the Spartans. The teams last squared off Aug. 25, 2017, in a 3-0 win for the Cougars. CofC won the first meeting, 2-0, Oct. 21, 1989. No match has gone past three sets as Charleston is 1-0 in two sets and 1-1 in three.

UP NEXT:

Charleston heads on the road to Columbia to face South Carolina Sept. 10. Opening serve from the Carolina Volleyball Center is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with the game airing on SEC Network Plus.

For complete coverage of Charleston volleyball, follow us on Facebook (/cofcvolleyball), X (@CofCVolleyball) and Instagram (@cofcvolleyball).

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Players Mentioned

Olivia Angell

Emma Appleman

Emily Banitt

Cole Crews

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