#1 College of Charleston 3, #2 Appalachian State 0 (30-26, 30-28, 30-24)

 

STATESBORO, GA ? The College of Charleston downed the Appalachian State Mountaineers in three straight games to garner a 3-0 shutout victory and win the 2005 SoCon Volleyball Championship at Hanner Fieldhouse on the campus of Georgia Southern University.

 

The championship is the third in the last four years for the Cougars and their third all-time.

 

The championship victory also leaves the Cougars unblemished against SoCon institutions in 2005, going a perfect 21-0 against league teams.

 

In the first game of the 2005 SoCon Volleyball Championship it was point-counterpoint for the vast assortment of the contest before the College of Charleston began to distance themselves, opening up a six-point advantage at one point.

 

The Mountaineers would not give up though, squashing the Cougars ideas of a blowout win in game one and pulling to within one at 27-26 before Charleston rattled off three straight points to take game one at 30-26.

 

It looked as if in game two that the Mountaineers would even things up in the match, sitting pretty with a 26-22 lead.

 

Appalachian State could not contain a late Cougars run, giving Charleston a 30-28 win and a 2-0 advantage in the match.

 

SoCon Player-of-the-Year Kaycie Carr matriculated 15 digs and one kill through the first two games, while teammate Annie Uthe commandeered a hitting percentage of .368 through the first two games, going 9-for-19.

 

The Cougars’ solidified the 2005 SoCon crown with a 30-24 game three win.

 

Appalachian State senior Kali Rumberger, a second-team All-SoCon honoree in 2005, finished the day for the Mountaineers with 16 digs.

 

The real star for the Cougars in the match may just have been Alexis Lowes, who sacrificed her body for the Charleston cause all afternoon. Lowes made myriad sliding digs for the Cougars in their match with Appalachian, finishing the day with 16 digs and four kills.

 

Uthe ended the championship victory with a hitting percentage of .375 after tallying 11 kills in the match. Carr finished with 20 digs and the one kill.

 

Tiffany Blum was given the nod as the tournament’s most outstanding player. Blum procured 12 kills and four digs in the championship match.

 

The College of Charleston Cougars (30-1) will learn their opponent in the 2005 NCAA Volleyball Tournament at 2:30 p.m. EDT on ESPNews on Sunday, Nov. 27.

 

All-Tournament Team

 

Stefanie Panzer                        Appalachian State

Brittany Zahn                           Appalachian State

Tiffany Blum                            College of Charleston

Kaycie Carr                            College of Charleston

Marie Dobrenz                        College of Charleston

Emily Harby                             Furman

 

Most Outstanding Player: Tiffany Blum, College of Charleston