NEWBERRY, S.C.- The Coker Cobras women's volleyball swept both the University of North Carolina at Pembroke Braves (30-28, 25-9, 25-22) and the Southern Wesleyan University Warriors (25-21, 25-17, 25-13) in three sets on day two of the Newberry College Volleyball Invitational.
Match One
In the first match of the day against UNC-P, the Cobras broke away early, leading by ten, before the Braves made a run of their own. They soon tied and the battle ensued for the crucial two-point advantage needed to win the set. One of the Braves six service errors gave Coker a one-point lead and an attack error earned them the fight for the first set. The teams combined for 58 points before the Cobras ended things.
The second set was all Coker. With ten straight serves from sophomore Taylor du Bray and back-to-back kills by Annie Mansfield, the Cobras broke the set wide open by going up on the Braves by 11. They ultimately won by 16 and kept UNC-P to single digits.
Set three was hard-fought by UNC-P and they kept it close the whole way. Five out of eight of du Bray's kills came in the third set. Six of the last seven points were either by seniors Madison Bingle or Christen Bragg.
Ten kills and 21 digs led game one from Bingle, 31 assists from Bragg, six block assists and one solo from Chloe Attram. The Cobras finished with 18 block assists, 38 kills, and .202 kill percentage.
Match Two
Set one of the matchup with SWU was close the whole way. Almost immediately out of the gate, the Cobras went on a five point run fueled by errors by the Warriors. Points were traded amongst the teams but the Cobras edged them out by four points.
In the second set, Coker fell behind a few times but kept it close enough to strike back and overcome the slight deficit. However, four of the last six points of the set belonged to the Cobras, helping them edge out the Warriors.
Starting out strong in the third set led the Cobras to their victory, beginning 5-1. Senior Missy Reid served eight straight, three before and five after a SWU timeout. This helped the lead to escalate to a 12-point advantage for Coker, 17-5. Reid came up with a few kills of her own in the midst of the set.
Senior middle blocker Alexis Berles was extremely efficient, collecting nine kills on 15 attempts, for a kill percentage of .600. Mansfield also claimed nine kills. Bragg assisted on 27 plays and Attram added six kills of her own. The Cobras as a team recorded a .258 kill percentage with 35 total kills.
Overall:
The Coker Cobras are now 3-1 on the season, and riding a three game winning streak going into a new week. They are averaging 12.71 kills per set, 1.79 service aces per set, and over a block and a half per set. The team has compiled 178 kills, 25 service aces, 270 digs, and 42 block assists, all over a course of 14 sets in two days.
Next Up:
On Tuesday, the Cobras head to fellow South Atlantic Conference member, Wingate University, to open up the conference schedule at 7:00 p.m. The Bulldogs were ranked first in the conference preseason poll released earlier in the week.