Cobras Split Doubleheader, Improve to 8-3 with Win Over Erskine

ANDERSON, S.C. – The Coker College women's volleyball team improved to 8-3 on the season by splitting their Friday afternoon doubleheader with Anderson (S.C.) and Erskine.

The Cobras opened the day with a 3-0 loss (13-25, 16-25, 15-25) to the Trojans, but rebounded to sweep Erskine 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-13).

Lana Strejcek was the star for the Cobras, collecting nine kills with a .381 kill percentage against Anderson, and nine kills with a .444 kill percentage against Erskine. The freshman middle blocker has been a revelation for the Cobras through the first eleven games of the season, consistently leading the team in kill percentage.

The Cobras jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead against Erskine thanks to a service ace by Olivia Cerick, and a series of attack errors by the Flying Fleet. Taylor du Bray added consecutive kills, and then Strejcek extended the lead to 8-3 with a kill of her own. Erskine closed the gap to 11-9, but kills by du Bray and Emily Everton helped push the lead back to 17-10.  Kills by Cayley Gunter and Arianne Jewell, and a service ace from du Bray helped close out the set with a score of 25-17 for the Cobras.

Erskine responded in the second set by grabbing a 5-0 lead. The Cobras quickly came back to tie the set 7-7 after a pair of kills from Gunter. The Flying Fleet regained the lead 16-11 before Coker used an 11-2 run to gain control of the set. Du Bray and Strejcek dominated during the stretch with du Bray registering three kills and a service ace, and Strejcek adding two kills. The Cobras won the set 25-21 after Emily Everton scored the final point on a kill assisted by du Bray.

Coker dominated the third set thanks to a terrific run of serves from senior Kara Overholt. Overholt recorded two service aces, and the Cobras extended their lead to 9-3. Du Bray took over the serve next and initiated a run of five straight points, punctuated by a pair of aces, and a 16-4 lead. Coker finished off the Flying Fleet with a final set score of 25-13.

The Cobras return to action next week with home matches against Mars Hill (Sept. 14), and Lenoir-Rhyne (Sept. 15). Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. on Friday, and 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Tickets for each match are $5 for adults, $3 for students and free to all Coker faculty, staff, and students. Live stats and video can be found at www.cokercobras.com.