DURHAM, N.C. - Charleston Southern rebounded from an opening-match setback to Elon with a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-21, 25-17) over host institution North Carolina Central Friday, Aug. 27 at the RTP/Hilton NCCU Tournament.

With the win, CSU improves to 1-1 on the season, while NC Central is now 0-2.

For the match, Amanda Hill led the Lady Bucs with 15 kills, hitting at a .429 clip. Amy Nokes distributed a season-best 27 assists, while Tricia Rodl led with 11 digs. Freshman Kayla Klinger led with three block assists.

CSU hit .191 as a team, compared with .085 for NCCU, while the Lady Bucs registered 44 digs to the Eagles' 36.

The match began with the Eagles edging out to an 8-6 advantage in set one. A kill from Hill and two NCCU attack errors gave CSU a 9-8 lead. The Lady Bucs were beneficiary of many Eagle miscues, and service aces from Hill and Klinger helped spark a pair of three-point rallies to build the advantage to 17-11. Service errors hampered CSU, as NCCU inched to within four points at 19-15. However, the Lady Bucs expanded the margin to claim set one, 25-17.

NCCU's hitting continued to struggle, as they posted a .000 average in the first set, and hit just .026 in the second. The Lady Bucs built a 6-0 lead before the Eagles scored a point in the second set, as five NCCU errors followed an Amberle Trinder kill. CSU maintained a comfortable lead throughout, but was unable to capitalize on four match point opportunities before a Nokes kill set the final score at 25-21.

The Eagles took an early 3-1 lead in set three, but three kills from Hill spurred a five-point surge to give CSU a 6-3 edge. NCCU then went on an 8-3 run to take an 11-9 lead. Four straight points for Lady Bucs pushed the score to 13-11 in CSU's favor. The Eagles drew to within two points at 19-17, but the Lady Bucs scored the final six points, completing the sweep with a 25-17 victory.

Head Coach Danyel Bellush said, "We're pleased with the win against NC Central. We're working on ironing some things out going forward."

The Lady Bucs open day two of the tournament with a 9 a.m. match against Delaware State. DSU (1-1) split a pair of matches Friday, being swept by UTEP before defeating Gardner-Webb 3-1.

CSU at NC Central Box Score

Lady Bucs Drop Season-Opener to Elon, 3-1

The Lady Buccaneer volleyball team won its first set of the 2010 volleyball season, but Elon rallied for a 3-1 (27-29, 25-18, 25-18, 25-12) victory over the Lady Buccaneers in the first match of the RTP/Hilton NCCU Tournament.

CSU began the match with 17 kills in set one and a .244 hitting percentage, but saw their hitting percentage decrease throughout the contest. For the match, Elon posted a .392 attack percent to CSU's .127 . With the loss, CSU falls to 0-1, while Elon is now 1-0.

CSU's Amanda Hill and Amy Nokes each posted a double-double for the match. Hill led the Lady Bucs with 14 kills and 12 digs, while Nokes registered 10 kills and dished out 11 assists. Elon's Allison Johnson led all players with 18 kills.

The Lady Bucs claimed a tightly-contested first set, 29-27, receiving kills by Hill on two out of CSU's final three points. The Buccaneers had a set point opportunity at 24-23, but it was thwarted, leading to an extended set. CSU took a 25-24 lead on an Emily Libertowski kill, and the teams traded rally points until an attack error by Elon gave the Bucs a 29-27 set one victory.

In set two, CSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held the lead at 6-4, as Cori Holeman posted two kills and Nokes and Hill had one each in the early going. Elon then rattled off three straight points to claim a 7-6 lead. The Phoenix led the rest of the way, outscoring the Lady Bucs 19-12 over the remainder of the set for a 25-18 victory. With the second set win, Elon evened the match at one set apiece.

After several early rally points in set three, Elon took an 11-7 lead with a four-point rally. CSU responded with three straight points to pull to within one at 11-10, but the Phoenix pulled away with a four-point run to make it 16-11. CSU only managed the draw the margin to within four points, falling 25-18 in the third set.

Elon earned the match victory with a 25-12 win in set four, stringing together runs of four and six points to put the set out of reach.

Hill, a three-time All-Big South student-athlete, registered her 47th career double-double. Nokes, a redshirt junior, notched the fourth double-double of her career.

CSU Sophomore setter Michaela Luna established a new career high with a team-best 13 assists, and Libertowski served up three aces for the match.

CSU vs. Elon Box Score