CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston defeated Yale in five sets (25-12, 19-25, 25-20, 14-25 and 15-13) Friday night in the team's home opener in TD Arena.
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With the win, Charleston sits even at 2-2 while Yale falls to 0-2 after losing in five sets to Pacific to open the weekend slate of matches.
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Four Cougars recorded eight-plus kills in their first game of the CofC Classic, paced by graduate student
Caitlyn Callahan's 15 strikes. Defensively,
Tynley Smeltzer and
Emily Banitt led the team with 25 and 10 digs, respectively, holding the Bulldogs to a .158 attacking percentage.
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WHEN THE GAME WAS DECIDED:
- Knotted at 13 in the fifth set, Callahan recorded her game-best 15th kill, putting the Cougars up for good to secure the win.
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CRITICAL POINTS AGAINST YALE:
- Three of Charleston's first five points of the night came via the block.
- The Cougars out-digged and out-blocked Yale during the game, 69-68 and 8-3, respectively.
- Charleston finished the fifth set with a .385 attacking percentage, having 11 of the 15 points come off kills.
- Allie Holland had a season-high 10 kills offensively, posting a game-best .667 attacking percentage.
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OF NOTE:
- Charleston is 1-0 against Yale all time after playing the Bulldogs for the first time in program history Friday.
- Callahan registered her 700th career kill while Dykes picked up her 200th career block in the win.
- Callahan has recorded seven-plus blocks in a match for the season time in 2024.
- Allie Holland had a season-high
- Redshirt sophomore Lauren Fowler made her CofC debut, recording a kill in the second set.
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UP NEXT:
Charleston concludes the CofC Classic Saturday with a pair of matches. The Cougars begin the day against USC Upstate at 11 a.m. before squaring off with Pacific in the nightcap at 7 p.m.
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For complete coverage of Charleston volleyball, follow us on Facebook (/cofcvolleyball), X (@CofCVolleyball) and Instagram (@cofcvolleyball).
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