CHARLESTON, S.C. – It took four sets Sunday but Charleston Southern prevailed for a 3-1 (25-23, 25-16, 19-25, 27-25) win over the defending Big South champion Winthrop Eagles, sweeping the weekend set in conference action.

Just as they did Saturday, Charleston Southern (2-0, 2-0 Big South) took the first two sets before Winthrop (0-2, 0-2 Big South) forced a fourth set.

The dynamic duo of Paige Reagor and Peyton Thompson paced the Bucs for a second-straight match collecting 15 kills each and combining for five blocks while Thompson had two service aces. Dayana Chara had a huge second set for the Bucs as she finished the day with 13 kills and a match-high three solo blocks.

CSU used another team-wide defensive effort to hold the Eagles to just .132 while blocking 12 attempts and holding the potent attack under .200 in every set and below .200 overall in both matches of the weekend sweep.

Reagor had a team-best .375 hitting percentage while Layla Sarvis (19), Angelika Rusin (16), Emma Minnick (12) and Elle McFatrich (10) all finished the day with double figure digs.
 
First Set

• Peyton Thompson and Paige Reagor set the tone early with 11 combined kills while the defense held Winthrop to .143
• Gabby Naniseni had three of her six kills helping the Bucs to a 25-23 first set win
• After falling behind 13-10 the Bucs rattled-off a 10-0 run for a 20-13 lead before fending off a Winthrop rally of their own

Second Set

• Dayana Chara provided a spark for the Bucs in the second grabbing five of her 13 kills and hitting .300 while blocking two Winthrop attempts
• Reagor and Thompson added four-more kills each as Reagor hit .800 and Thompson had two blocks
• CSU hit a match-high .308 in the second while securing their largest margin of the day taking a 25-16 set

Third Set

• Winthrop's defense dug in to hold the Bucs to .000 in the third set and extend the match
• Chara had four kills while Thompson and Reagor combined for the other four Buccaneer kills
• Morgan Bossler had three of her match-high five service aces for the Eagles

Fourth Set

• Both teams traded points in the fourth set as neither side led by more than five points when CSU held a 21-16 margin
• Winthrop rallied once again forcing a 23-23 tie and a pair of Buccaneer timeouts
• After trading more points the Bucs ended the match with a kill from Thompson and Eagle attack error to complete the weekend sweep winning six of the seven sets played

Standout Performances

• Paige Reagor (15), Peyton Thompson (15) and Dayana Chara (13) paced the Bucs with 43 of the 55 total kills
• Four Bucs – Layla Sarvis (19), Angelika Rusin (15), Emma Minnick (12) and Elle McFatrich (10) – finished the match with 10-or-more digs
• CSU's defense was lockdown all weekend holding the Eagles under .200 in both matches an below .200 in three of the four sets Sunday
• The trio of Chara, Thompson and Reagor combined for seven solo blocks led by Chara's three

Up Next
Charleston Southern heads to the New River Valley to take on Radford for a pair starting Saturday, Feb. 13 with a 7 p.m. start.