College of Charleston Athletics

Damien Elder concluded his fourth season as an assistant coach with the College of Charleston volleyball program in the fall of 2022.
 
“I am very excited that Damian is back on staff here in Charleston,” Kepner said. “His experience and familiarity with our program will be a huge asset. He is going to help our program grow in all areas.  I have known Damian for eight years, and his attention to detail in the gym and the office will be a great compliment to Caroline and myself.”

2022 (Overall Record: 14-16, CAA: 9-7)

• Ranked second in the CAA in both hitting percentage (.215) and blocks (2.34).
• Graduate student middle blocker Claire Campbell was named to the All-CAA Second Team.
• Charleston set a single-match program-record with 17 service aces in the season opener against Fresno State (Aug. 26).
• Sophomore Anna Smith tied the individual five-set, single-match record with six against Fresno State.
• Senior Emma Falk delivered the second-most blocks in a three-set match with 10 against Northeastern (Oct. 15).
• Falk also tied for the third-most blocks in a three-set match with nine at Charleston Southern (Sept. 16).
• Campbell ranked third in the CAA in hitting percentage (.358), which was good for sixth on the program’s single-season hitting percentage rankings in the rally-scoring era.
• Falk (1.20) and Campbell (0.93) ranked second and ninth, respectively, in the league in blocks per set.
• Falk’s average of 1.20 blocks per set ranked ninth on the program’s single-season list during the rally-scoring era.
• Falk concludes her career at CofC ranked third all-time in blocks per set (1.26).
• Sophomore Tynley Smeltzer ranked sixth in the CAA in digs per set (3.90).

2021 (Overall Record: 16-12, CAA: 9-7)

• Charleston led the CAA in digs per set (15.11).
• Junior outside hitter Lexi Wierzbicki was selected to the All-CAA First Team.
• Freshman setter Jasmin Goei earned a spot on the CAA All-Rookie Team.
• The Cougars recorded the program’s fifth-highest single-season service aces total during the rally-scoring era with 195.
• Program’s second-highest single-season service aces per set average (1.74) during the rally-scoring era.
• The Cougars set a four-set, single-match record with 13 aces at Northeastern (Nov. 6).
• CofC also established a five-set, single-match mark with 12 aces against UNCW (Nov. 13).
• Sophomore Sammy Campion twice tied the individual five-set, single-match record with six aces against Howard (Sept. 3) and UNCW (Nov. 13).
• Junior Cat Schmid set a four-set, single-match record with seven aces at Northeastern (Nov. 6).
• Senior Molly Russell compiled the 10^th-best single-season hitting percentage during the rally scoring era (.340), which was also good for fifth in the CAA.
• Freshmen Emma Appleman, Anna Smith and Tynley Smeltzer each earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors.
• Appleman and Goei ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, in assists per set.
• Campion ranked second in the league in both aces (0.50) and digs per set (4.25).
• Wierzbicki ranked sixth in the CAA in kills per set (3.03).

2020 (Overall Record: 5-6, CAA: 4-4)

• Team ranked third nationally in blocks per set (3.14) and 10^th in opponent hitting percentage (0.127).
• Helped mentor CAA Libero of the Year and All-CAA First Team selection Logan Manusky as well as All-CAA Second Team honoree Hazel Brown.
• Sophomore middle blocker Emma Falk led the CAA, ranked third nationally and set a CofC single-season record with an average of 1.65 blocks per set.
• Manusky led the CAA and ranked 26^th nationally averaging 5.33 digs per set.

2019 (Overall Record: 7-21, CAA: 4-12)

• Team ranked second in the CAA in digs per set (15.49)
• Logan Manusky earned All-CAA Second Team recognition after leading the league with 4.85 digs per set.
• Senior Lauren Freed became the 10^th player in program history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career. 

Prior to College of Charleston

• Spent six seasons as the head coach of the indoor and beach volleyball programs at Mercer University.
• Accumulated the fourth-most wins in the indoor program’s history.
• Guided the Bears to their first winning season in nine years in 2016.
• Mentored a trio of All-SoCon performers including two SoCon All-Freshman selections.
• Instrumental in establishing Mercer’s beach volleyball program in 2012.
• Led the Bears to 30 wins on the sand including back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2015 and 2016.
• Mentored three All-Atlantic Sun First Team pairs and five ASUN All-Freshman selections.
• Spent five seasons as the head coach of the South Carolina beach volleyball program and associate head coach with the Gamecocks’ indoor program.
• Helped guide the indoor team to 71 wins including a 21-9 campaign in 2008.
• Played an integral role in establishing South Carolina’s first competitive sand volleyball team, which he led to the SEC Beach Championship title in 2009.
• Spent the 2004 season as a volunteer assistant at Stanford helping the Cardinal to the national championship title that fall.

Personal

• Elder is a 2002 graduate of Fresno State University.