College of Charleston 3, South Carolina State 0

CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston’s underclassmen got the opportunity to perform and set a number of new career highs as the Cougars swept South Carolina State (25-9, 27-25, 25-13) on Tuesday night at TD Arena.

College of Charleston (16-6, 7-1) hit .600 in the first set and .365 for the match as the Cougars rolled past the Bulldogs (6-11, 2-4) for yet another sweep at TD Arena, the third in a row for CofC. Charleston defense outdug S.C. State 36-26 and held the Bulldogs to just .195 hitting.      

Freshman Kari Fidelholtz set a new career high with 11 kills and a .625 hitting percentage. She also made two digs and two blocks. Classmate Grace Rebarchak also set new career highs in kills (7), attacks (16) and blocks (2). Sophomore Catey Warren recorded a career-high seven kills and two block assists.

Sophomore Lizzie Theesfeld paced CofC with 12 kills and six digs, while Kelly Kolich picked up eight kills and set a new career high with five aces, leading CofC to a new season-high nine team aces.

Sophomore Andi Zbojniewicz made the start at libero and dug 13 balls, tying her season-best performance. Starting setter Taeler Davis tallied 38 assists, her most for a three-set match this season.

S.C. State was led by Desire Waller and her 12 kills on 35 attempts. Waller also made four digs and two blocks. Elizabeth Webb made 10 digs and Alyse Lewis and Taylor Bailey each tallied three blocks.

College of Charleston went on a 10-0 run in the middle of the first set to explode an 11-8 lead into a 21-8 advantage. Kolich made two aces during the run and Fidelholtz tallied four kills. A kill from Warren gave the Cougars a 25-9 set victory. CofC hit .600 in the first set and held the Bulldogs to a .000 hitting percentage.

The Bulldogs proved far more ferocious in the second set, refusing to allow CofC to build a lead and keeping the set within a point or two the entire time. The second frame featured 12 ties and three lead changes as both teams hit under .300 and combined for 31 digs. The Cougars got to set point at 24-21 after a Rebarchak kill, but SCSU reeled off three straight points to tie it at 24. The Cougars took a 26-25 lead off a kill from Fidelholtz and Theesfeld ended it on the next point with a kill.

The final set more closely resembled the first frame as the Cougars used an 8-1 run to open a 20-11 lead and take control of the set. An attack error from Maya Bell ended the set at 25-13 CofC as the Cougars claimed the sweep.

College of Charleston will next travel to SoCon foes Appalachian State and Western Carolina this weekend. CofC plays the Mountaineers on Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. and then faces the Catamounts on Sunday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m.