[cid:image001.jpg@01D8B99A.C58D65F0]FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

College of Charleston Volleyball News

August 26, 2022

Contact | Whitney Noble, Associate Director of Athletics Communications & Creative Content

Office Phone | 843.953.3683 | E-Mail | [log in to unmask]



COUGARS BEST FRESNO STATE, THE CITADEL TO OPEN 2022 SEASON



CHARLESTON, S.C. --- The College of Charleston volleyball team set a new single-match record with 17 aces in a reverse sweep of Fresno State and followed with a clean sweep of The Citadel to open the season with back-to-back victories for the first time since 2018.



The Cougars deployed an efficient and relentless attack on the first day of the CofC Classic, posting a hitting percentage of at least .329 in each match. Senior Claire Campbell put down 17 kills and hit an other-worldly .577 while Gabi Bailey added a team-high 33 kills to pace the attack.



QUICK SETS

Final Score (Match One): Charleston 3, Fresno State 2 (23-25, 22-25, 25-13, 25-20, 15-8)

Final Score (Match Two): Charleston 3, The Citadel 0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-16)

Location: Charleston, S.C. (TD Arena)

Records: Charleston (2-0), Fresno State (0-2), The Citadel (0-1)



Critical Point

After Fresno State cut the Cougars’ advantage to 15-14 in the fourth set, Charleston answered with back-to-back kills from Bailey and Lexi Wierzbicki to kick-start a 7-3 run that extended CofC’s lead to 22-17. The Cougars would go on to win the set, 25-20, to force a fifth frame which Charleston claimed by a score of 15-8.



Key Cougars



  *   Wierzbicki came out swinging in the season opener putting down a match-high 21 kills while hitting a blistering .442 against Fresno State.

  *   Bailey turned in a double-double with 16 kills and 14 digs against Fresno State. The senior outside then hit .424 with a match-high 17 kills in the sweep of The Citadel.

  *   Anna Smith posted a double-double with 12 kills and 17 digs against The Citadel while adding a career-high six service aces.

  *   Campbell put down 10 kills and hit .571 against Fresno State, and added seven kills on 12 swings without an error against The Citadel.

  *   Emma Falk finished the day with 12 kills and eight blocks while hitting .370.

  *   Jasmin Goei and Emma Appleman totaled 50 and 43 assists, respectively.

  *   Tynley Smeltzer accumulated 28 digs on the day, including a match-high 16 against The Citadel, to pace the back row.





Match Notes



  *   The Cougars averaged 14.50 kills per set on the day while combining for a .345 hitting percentage.

  *   Sofie Vogel dropped in a career-high five aces against Fresno State and put down eight kills on 10 swings in the sweep of The Citadel.

  *   Charleston went on an 8-2 run, including five straight points, midway through set three against Fresno State to spark the comeback.

  *   The Cougars shattered their overall and five-set single-match record for aces against Fresno State beating the previous marks by three and five, respectively.





Up Next

The Cougars close out the weekend and the CofC Classic against Big 12 foe Rutgers on Saturday evening. First serve is slated for 7:00 pm in TD Arena.



-www.CofCSports.com-







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