Cougars Host UAB, Mercer, GSU In Season-Opening Tournament

MT. PLEASANT, SC March 20, 2013 – College of Charleston will open its 2013 sand volleyball season at home this weekend in the CofC Sand Tournament at the Creekside Tennis and Swim Facility in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

UAB, Mercer and Georgia State will be traveling to Charleston to face the Cougars, who are coming off a 2012 berth in the AVCA National Championships. College of Charleston was picked seventh nationally in the AVCA Preseason Poll.

Mercer is 0-3 on the young season and will face UAB on Wednesday before heading to CofC, while UAB is currently 2-3. Georgia State is playing sand volleyball for the first time this season, and is currently 3-1.

“This season, we have a better understanding of how everything works, and we are excited after our successful season last year,” head coach Jason Kepner said. “We have a lot of experience with this squad, and it’s been difficult to determine our pairs since we have so much depth. We are looking forward to a great weekend of sand volleyball.”

The Cougars return all but one player, Elyse Chubb, from last year’s squad, while adding indoor AVCA All-America honorable mention Darcy Dorton, indoor SoCon All-Freshman selection Melissa Morello and freshmen Kari Fidelholtz and Grace Rebarchak.

The Cougars faced Mercer in last year’s Charleston Tournament, defeating the Bears 5-0.

Dual wins are best-of-five, with each pair grouping playing best-of-three games to 21. All matches are free and open to the public at the Creekside Facility.

Fri, Mar 22 UAB vs. Mercer 2:00 p.m.

Fri, Mar 22 CofC vs. Mercer 4:00 p.m.

Sat, Mar 23 GSU vs. UAB 10:00 a.m.

Sat, Mar 23 Mercer vs. GSU 1:00 p.m.

Sat, Mar 23 CofC vs. UAB 4:00 p.m.

Sun, Mar 24 CofC vs. GSU 1:00 p.m.