Volleyball Opens Conference Tournament on Friday

CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College Volleyball team begins its pursuit of a Big South Championship on Friday afternoon as the Blue Hose face No. 3 seed Winthrop from Gore Arena in Buies Creek, N.C… The match on Friday will be available on ESPN+ and is set to begin at 4:30 p.m..

Matchup: No. 6 Presbyterian vs. No. 3 Winthrop
Date: Friday Nov. 19
Time: 4:30 pm
Site: Gore Arena (Buies Creek, N.C.)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Watch: ESPN+
Twitter: @BlueHoseVolley

Notes
Last Time Out
Senior Erin Cooke totaled her seventh triple-double as the Presbyterian College volleyball team defeated Hampton in five sets (21-25, 25-18, 25-22, 10-25, 15-13) on Saturday afternoon at Holland Hall. Cooke totaled 15 kills, 18 assists and 12 digs along with three aces and two blocks in the victory.

Last Matchup vs Winthrop
The Presbyterian College volleyball team was unable to grab a win on senior day as they dropped a four-setter to Winthrop 3-1 (20-25, 8-25, 25-21, 15-25).

History in Conference Tournament
Friday marks the fifth time that the Blue Hose will compete in the Big South tournament and the second straight season that they earned a spot in the championship. The tournament was not held in the spring season but PC punched a ticket during the 2019 season. PC has earned victories over Winthrop (2012) and UNC Asheville (2019) during their Big South championship history.

Big South Honors
Three members of the Presbyterian College volleyball team were honored by the Big South Conference as a part of its annual awards announcement on Wednesday afternoon. Senior S/RS Erin Cooke was selected to the All-Big South Second Team, freshman outside hitter Rylee Moorhead was named to the All-Freshman Team and junior right side Paige Cairns netted a spot on the All-Academic Team.

Cooke Triple-Doubles...
Senior Erin Cooke has seven six triple-doubles on the season which is currently leading amongst all NCAA DI volleyball players. Cooke's last triple-double came on November 13 against Hampton with 15 kills, 18 assists, and 12 digs in the five-set victory. In her seven triple-doubles this season, Cooke is averaging 14 kills, 22 assists, and 14 digs per match.

The Opponent...
Winthrop enters the conference tournament as the three seed after a 17-9 regular season which included a 12-4 mark in league matches. Morgan Bossler leads the Eagles attack with 267 kills as Nikkia Benitez has totaled 245 and Karli Sheppard has 235 on the year. Jana Owens paces Winthrop with 812 assists. On the defensive side, the Eagles are led by Leah Metzger who has 292 digs and is one of five players over 240 digs this season. Bossler leads Winthrop with 81 blocks as well. Winthrop has taken down PC in both regular season meetings with a five-set win in Rock Hill and a four-set victory in Clinton.

Conference Leaders
PC remains second in the league in service aces per set at 1.85 this season. Freshman Rylee Moorhead leads the Blue Hose with 38 aces, while senior Erin Cooke has totaled 31 this season and fifth year senior Allie Wright has 29.

Sophomore libero Anna Hewitt sits fourth in the Big South with 442 digs as the Alvaton, Kentucky native is fifth in digs/set at 4.46.

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Players Mentioned

#6 Paige Cairns: RS; 5' 10"; Junior

#3 Erin Cooke: S/RS; 5' 11"; Senior

#11 Anna Hewitt: DS/L; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#14 Allie Wright: MB; 6' 1"; Fifth Year

#9 Rylee Moorhead: OH; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#6 Paige Cairns
: 5' 10"; Junior
: RS

#3 Erin Cooke
: 5' 11"; Senior
: S/RS

#11 Anna Hewitt
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: DS/L

#14 Allie Wright
: 6' 1"; Fifth Year
: MB

#9 Rylee Moorhead
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: OH