CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The University of Charleston kicked off its 2011 UC Invitational Tournament with a thrilling victory against Erskine as they came from behind in the five -set match. The Golden Eagles were unable to grab their second win of the tournament as they ran into a tough contest against Chowan falling 3-2.

In the opening contest, Charleston fell behind 2-1 early yet then rallied behind an attack percentage of 24 percent to take the final three sets. Malleri Hardison (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) paced the Golden Eagles in the contest with 18 kills and eight digs, while Katie Williams (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg) contributed 38 assists and 13 digs.

The Golden Eagles started their second match off strong winning their first game 25-22 before falling in the following two sets to Chowan University. The fourth set was a tight competition as back to back aces by Britney Bills (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) motivated the Golden Eagles to a 15-13 lead breaking away from their close game tie. After a timeout with the score of 21-17, the Golden Eagles’ Keely Latham (Gardnerville, Nev./Douglas) finalized their fourth set win with a powerful kill. Despite the strong effort in the fourth set, the Golden Eagles were unable to carry the momentum through the fifth as the Hawk’s pulled away with a 15-4 victory.

Hardison again had a solid match as she recorded a double-double of 19 kills and 16 digs.

Charleston will look to rebound with two games on day two of the Invitational Tournament with an 11 am match against Virginia Union, followed by a 3 pm match against Belmont Abbey to wrap up the tournament.