Women's Volleyball Rolls in Atlantic Region Quarterfinal Winning Their First NCAA Tournament Contest Since 1998

By Press release submission

Nov 25, 2022

Women's Volleyball defeated Fairmont State in the Atlantic Region quarterfinal, sweeping the Falcons in three sets. This is the first win for UC Women's Volleyball in the NCAA tournament since 1998.

Set One: UC- 25 FSU- 15
The Golden Eagles took an early lead in set one going up 9-4 in the opening moments of the match, forcing a timeout by Fairmont head coach Travis Hinkle. UC would continue to capitalize on a bit of sloppy play out of Fairmont taking an eight-point lead at 13-5. McKenzie Damon tallied four kills within the first ten points scored by the Golden Eagles.

Fairmont would call their second and final timeout of the set down 15-6 and in desperate need of signs of life. Charleston would close out the opening set 25-15 boasting a .379 hitting percentage. They tallied 18 kills with 6 of them coming from swings from Damon. UC would commit just two attack errors in the opening set.

Set Two: UC- 25 FSU- 15
Charleston would dominate in set two as they did in the first, hitting a stellar .500 while tallying 13 kills and committing just one attack error. UC would stretch its lead to as many as nine a quarter way through the second, trudging ahead 15-6 before Fairmont called their final timeout of the set.

Sage Bearnson led the way on offense tallying five kills on nine swings and hitting .556 for the set. Redshirt Freshman Reagan McLean hit .750 in the set notching three kills in the set, while Maria Hernandez picked up two big time solo blocks on defense. Charleston was dominant on defense in the second set, converting 80% of their sideout opportunities (12-15). Additionally, UC recorded three service errors in the penultimate set.

Set Three: UC- 25 FSU- 19

In set three UC lead by as many as 5 before Fairmont went on an 8-2 run, forcing a timeout by Kanelos when UC fell behind 11-12. Dominance in the latter portion of set three allowed UC to finish off the Falcons in straight set fashion. Charleston would go on a 5-0 run with the score 20-19 with the final two kills coming from McLean and Selke, respectively.

Overall, UC was stellar in all parts of the game. The offense was led by Selke, who hit .600 on the night and led the team with 12 kills. Hernandez was all over the court, recording two kills, 38 assists, 15 digs, a service ace, two solo blocks and a block assist. UC converted on 70% of their sideout opportunities which accounted for just under 50% of their points for the night. Charleston hit .376 as a team collecting 44 kills while committing just six errors on the night.