CLINTON, S.C. – Peyton Thompson had a match-high 18 kills Tuesday evening, but Presbyterian defeated visiting Charleston Southern in four sets (25-20, 15-25, 25-16, 25-15) inside the Templeton Center.
 
Gabrielle Naniseni tied her season high with 11 kills for the Bucs, while Kaileigh Ammons had a career-high eight kills on 13 attempts. Emma Minnick had a match-high 38 assists, while Ashleigh Holweger led all players with 18 digs.
 
CSU jumped out to a quick start, taking the first three points and six of the first nine. PC rallied with a 9-3 run of its own before the set became a back-and-forth affair. A 7-1 Blue Hose run late in the set, led by a pair of Rylee Moorhead kills, was too much to overcome for the Bucs, as Presbyterian took the opening set 25-20.
 
The Bucs jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the second set and kept their foot on the gas to tie the match. Thompson had four kills during the early run and Presbyterian never got closer than a five-point deficit in the set. Naniseni and Ammons were responsible for six of the Bucs' last seven points in the set, as CSU tied the match with a 25-15 win.
 
Charleston Southern and Presbyterian traded early scoring runs in the third set before the Blue Hose took control midway through. A 12-2 run turned an 8-6 lead for the Bucs into an 18-10 deficit, one CSU could not climb out of in a 25-16 third set loss. PC followed that with a 10-4 run to start the fourth set and CSU never got closer than a five-point deficit following the early run. Aside from a 4-1 run to start the set, the Bucs failed to string together a run of more than two points, as the Blue Hose took the set 25-15 and the match, 3-1
 
News and Notes

• Despite losing the match, the Bucs had the players with the most kills (Peyton Thompson, 18), assists (Emma Minnick, 38), digs (Ashleigh Holweger, 18) and aces (Thompson, three).
• Kailiegh Ammons' eight kills surpassed her previous career high of seven, which also came against Presbyterian during the 2020-21 season.
• Gabrielle Naniseni had double-digit kills for the fourth time this season, with two of those coming in conference play.
• After entering the match with just one ace this season, Abigail Breeden served up two aces against Presbyterian.

 
Up Next
The Bucs return home to face Radford Saturday at 2 p.m.