Cougs in 8th straight volleyball final

GREENVILLE -- The College of Charleston earned a berth in the Southern Conference volleyball tournament final, beating Samford, 3-1, at Alley Gymnasium on the Furman campus Saturday.

The Cougars (17-12), who won 23-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-20, will face defending champion Furman (26-3) in today's championship match at 2 p.m. The Paladins beat Appalachian State, 3-0.

For the Cougars, Sarah Havel pounded 14 kills and Cole Dawley notched a match-high 45 assists and 16 digs, her 11th double-double of the season. Samford (17-14) was the SoCon North top seed ahead of App State.

The victory sends the Cougars to their eighth straight SoCon tourney final. Furman, the SoCon North top seed ahead of the Cougars, has won 19 consecutive matches.

It will also be a rematch of the 2008 title game in which the Paladins pulled out a narrow 3-2 victory with a 16-14 decision in the fifth set.

--No. 4 seed Coastal Carolina, which upset No. 1 UNC Asheville, topped second-seeded Liberty, 3-1, in the Big South Tournament final in Radford, Va. The Flames were seeking their third straight Big South title and third victory over the Chanticleers this season, but Coastal Carolina won 25-16, 25-18, 25-27, 25-21.

Swimming

South Carolina sophomore Armin Hornikel, a former Stratford High School swimmer, earned the team's second NCAA 'B' cut time of the season on Friday night with his clocking in the 100-yard breaststroke at the Gamecock Invitational in Columbia.

Hornikel, the team's top returning breaststroker from last season, was the runner-up in the event, stopping the clock at a season-best 55.32 seconds to get in just under the NCAA provisional standard.

Horse racing

Danielle Hodsdon guided Mixed Up between horses and a beat Red Letter Day by a neck to capture 40th running of the $100,000 Carolina First Colonial Cup Steeplechase in Camden.

The final time for the 2-mile, 6-furlong chase, over 17 Colonial Cup fences was 5:16 3/5.

Tax Ruling finished a length and a half back in third. With the victory, Mixed Up, a 10-year-old homebred gelding, likely wrapped up Horse of the Year honors and an Eclipse Award for steeplechasing for Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard.