BLUEFIELD, Va. — Carolina University Women's Volleyball bounced back in impressive fashion Thursday evening, earning a straight-set victory over Bluefield University inside The Dome.
The Bruins entered Thursday's contest looking to build momentum after going 1-3 during their opening weekend. Carolina did exactly that, defeating the Rams 25-17, 25-20, 25-20 to improve to 2-3 on the season, while Bluefield fell to 2-2.
Carolina set the tone early with an efficient offensive performance in the opening set. The Bruins recorded nine kills with just one attack error on 21 attempts, hitting .381 on their way to a 25-17 victory. CU continued to control the match in the second, taking a 25-20 decision before closing out the sweep with another 25-20 win. The Bruins saved one of their strongest offensive efforts for the final set, hitting .355 with 13 kills and only two errors.
The Carolina attack was balanced throughout the night. Britney Comolli and Madison Kilgore led the Bruins with eight kills apiece while committing just one combined attack error. Kilgore hit .389, while Comolli finished at .381. SarahElizabeth Samuels added seven kills without an error on 14 attempts for a team-best .500 hitting percentage. Corinne Cutter contributed four kills while hitting .250.
The Bruins were particularly effective offensively as a team, finishing with 33 kills and only six errors on 88 attempts for a .307 hitting percentage. Carolina also totaled 12 block assists and 53 digs.
Defensively, Charlee Hale led Carolina with 14 digs, while Valeria Suarez and Madison Kilgore collected eight apiece. Martina Rivolta and Keira Zarger directed the offense with 14 assists each.
Bluefield was held to an .008 team hitting percentage, recording 32 kills against 31 attack errors. Carolina's defensive pressure was especially effective in the first set, when the Rams committed 13 attack errors and hit -.081.
"I was really proud of the way our team responded tonight," Head Coach Chelsea Jones said. "After a challenging opening weekend, we talked about continuing to grow and learning from every opportunity we have on the court. I thought we played with great energy, stayed aggressive and did a good job of playing together from start to finish. This was a good step forward for our group, and now we have to continue building on it."
Carolina University will return to the road on Saturday, August 29, traveling to Ferrum College for a tri-match. The Bruins will face Ferrum at 11 a.m. before taking on Spartanburg Methodist at 1 p.m.
