JACKSONVILLE, Fla - A late rally in set two keyed a 3-0 victory (25-22, 28-26, 25-17) for Troy (4-5) over Charleston Southern (2-6) Friday, Sept. 10 at North Florida. Senior outside hitter Amanda Hill claimed the all-time record for kills in CSU program history, breaking a tie with Carrie O'Connell (1991-94).

Hill recorded 18 kills vs. Troy, hitting .389. She added a team-best 13 digs for her fourth double-double in a row. She now stands in first place with 1,487 career kills. Hill broke the record on the first point of the match, sending down a kill for a 1-0 CSU lead in set one.

Troy held a slight edge in hitting percentage at .198 to .176, but registered 44 kills to CSU's 35. The Trojans also posted 49 digs, while the Lady Bucs had 42.

CSU setter Amy Nokes recorded 31 assists, while Emily Libertowski entered double-figures in digs for the third time this season with 12. Amberle Trinder, Kayla Klinger and Cori Holeman contributed two block assists each.

The Trojans surged ahead during the first set, and held a three-point advantage at 18-15. Three Troy errors over the next four points made the score 19-18. CSU drew to within one point on three occasions, including a block by Trinder and Klinger to make it 22-21. The Trojans made good on their set point opportunity, claiming a 1-0 lead with a 25-22 victory. Hill hit .800 (8-for-10) during set one.

The Lady Bucs appeared poised to win the second set, leading 20-15 after a 9-2 rally which featured kills by Klinger and Trinder and a Nokes service ace. The Trojans scored the next five points, and seven out of the next eight, to take a 22-21 lead. Hill then sent down a kill and a Holeman-Nokes block made it 23-22, CSU. The teams traded two-point rallies, and Troy converted on its fourth set point try, winning 28-26 for a 2-0 lead.

The teams traded leads in set four, yielding a 12-12 score midway through. Troy reeled off the next five points for a 17-12 advantage. Two kills from Klinger and one from Holeman brought the Lady Bucs to within two points at 17-15. The Trojans outscored CSU 8-2 the rest of the way, claiming set two by a 25-17 score to earn the match victory.

Devin Von Pingel led the Trojans with 15 kills, while Kayla Giles (10 kills, 11 digs) posted a double-double. Megan Henderson led all players with 36 assists.

The Lady Bucs will look to regain winning form Saturday, as the team opens the day with an 11 a.m. match against host institution North Florida. CSU will close out play at the Best Western Invitational against Chattanooga at 5 p.m. Saturday.

CSU vs. Troy Box Score

Lady Bucs Drop 3-1 Decision to UIC; Hill Ties Program Record for Kills
Charleston Southern opened the Best Western Classic with a 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 25-19) setback to Illinois-Chicago Friday, Sept. 10 at the University of North Florida. CSU senior outside hitter led the Lady Bucs with 17 kills, tying the program career record and breaking the career mark for attacks in the process.

The Lady Bucs fall to 2-5 on the season, while UIC evens its record at 3-3.

Hill tied Carrie O'Connell's (1991-94) record with 1,469 career kills, and is now first on the list with 3,794 total attacks. Hill also added a team-high 18 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.

Freshman outside hitter Kayla Klinger posted a career-high 12 kills, while Amberle Trinder registered nine kills at a .375 rate. Setter Amy Nokes recorded 38 assists, while Tricia Rodl added 13 digs. Freshman Erin LaVenice, Nokes, and Cori Holeman contributed three blocks apiece.

For the match, UIC outhit the Lady Bucs, .239 to .143, earning nine total blocks as a team. CSU posted six total blocks.

Janice Dismuke and Kelsey Safranek paced the Flames with 15 kills apiece. Dismuke hit .682 for the match and added seven block assists. Jessica Dalke dished out 50 assists for UIC.

The Lady Bucs took an early 5-3 lead in set one, getting three kills from Hill. UIC responded, and took a 15-9 lead with a 6-0 run. Kills from Hill and Holeman helped fuel a 5-0 CSU rally to trim the deficit to one at 15-14. Following two rally points, Trinder tied the set, 16-16, with a kill. The Flames won the next two points, and held the Lady Bucs off for a 25-20 victory.

In set two, the teams played evenly early on, leading to a 10-10 tie. CSU then went on a 5-0 rally to take a 15-10 advantage, getting kills from Trinder and Nokes and a Nokes service ace. The Flames rallied to within two points twice, but Klinger posted three kills over the remainder of the set, including on the set-winning point.

The Flames stormed out to a 9-3 lead in set three, and hit a match-best .296 during the set while CSU hit .050. The Lady Bucs pulled to within two points at 11-9, but UIC broke away for a 25-19 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Klinger led CSU with six kills during set three.

Set four began similarly to set three, with the Flames jumping out to an 8-2 advantage. A Trinder kill and four UIC errors sparked a 5-0 CSU rally which sliced the lead to two at 11-9. The Flames scored the next three points and did not allow the Lady Bucs to within fewer than four points the rest of the way. UIC clinched the match with a 25-19 set four victory.

Head Coach Danyel Bellush said, "We played well in spurts against UIC. UIC is a really good team, and they exhibited tremendous ball control."

CSU vs. UIC Box Score