CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina State showed resilience and offensive promise Saturday, extending College of Charleston to four sets before falling 3-1 in women's volleyball action at McAlister Field House.
The Lady Bulldogs dropped the opening two sets 25-14 and 25-16 before responding with their strongest performance of the match. SC State captured the third set 25-23, hitting an impressive .359 with 18 kills and only four attack errors. College of Charleston closed the match with a 25-17 victory in the fourth set.
Despite the setback, South Carolina State received several encouraging individual performances.
Kenna Harris led the Lady Bulldogs offensively with 13 kills while hitting .241.
Amani Hawkins followed with 10 kills, while
Carra Pierre-Louis delivered an efficient performance with eight kills on 18 attempts and only two errors for a team-best .333 hitting percentage.
Taelyn Graham added six kills and
Jade Robinson and
Ki'ra Wright finished with five apiece.
SC State finished with 47 kills and 44 assists while collecting 62 digs and five service aces.
Macey McCoy directed the offense with a team-high 24 assists and also contributed 15 digs, while
Kiyla Mighty added 12 assists. Wright recorded 12 digs,
Jordan Dalland finished with 10 and
Chloe Neal added eight.
The third set provided the clearest indication of the Lady Bulldogs' potential. South Carolina State jumped in front early and maintained its advantage behind a balanced attack. Hawkins was especially effective, putting down seven kills on 11 swings with just one error for a .545 hitting percentage in the frame. Pierre-Louis added three kills on five attempts, Harris contributed three kills and Robinson added two as SC State totaled 18 kills and registered a 70% side out rate.
The Lady Bulldogs built a 16-11 advantage in the third following a Neal service ace and later stretched the lead to 22-17 on a Pierre-Louis ace. Charleston made a late push, but SC State remained composed, and Wright delivered the set-clinching kill for the 25-23 victory.
College of Charleston finished with 55 kills and a .297 hitting percentage. Rosa Brencic led the Cougars with 15 kills, while Emma Duffield added 12. Charleston also held an 8-1 advantage in total team blocks.
South Carolina State fell to
1-5 with the loss, while College of Charleston improved to
4-2. The match lasted one hour, 56 minutes and was played before an announced crowd of 129 at McAlister Field House.
For the Lady Bulldogs, the result showed progress beyond the final score, particularly in a third set in which SC State combined efficient attacking, balanced production and timely serving to take a set from the Cougars on their home floor.
