Despite a late rally, the Charleston Southern volleyball team lost a heartbreaker on Saturday to the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs in five sets.

Sets 1 and 2
The Bulldogs took the first two sets 25-16 and 26-24. In the first set,  Gardner Webb jumped out to a 16-10 lead, in large part due to  5-0 midway through. Charleston Southern (11-13, 4-6) tried to fight back, but the Bulldogs (6-16, 4-6) scored the final four points of the set with two kills and a service ace. 

In set two, it looked like it would be all Bulldogs, as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Later in the match, with a 19-13 deficit to overcome, the Bucs started to fight back and ultimately tied the set at 24 after a kill by Madison McNally and a block by Indigo Young; however, the Bulldogs scored the final two points to take the set and the 2-0 lead.

Set 3
After falling behind 6-2 to start the set, the Bucs were able to go on a run. Down 15-14, the Bucs took their first lead of the set with back-to-back kills from Giada Pais-Marden and Peyton Thompson. The Bulldogs kept fighting though, taking a 24-23 lead before the Bucs scored the final three points highlighted by a kill by Pais-Marden to end it.

Set 4 
The Bucs once again found themselves behind early in set four, as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-2 lead. In another back-and-forth match, the Bucs were able to trim the deficit to 12-10 thanks to three-straight kills from Indigo Young, Thompson and Jyriah Morgan. Later on, the Bucs took their first lead of the set thanks to a 4-0 run to make it 21-19. The Bulldogs tied it up at 22, but the Bucs scored the final three points with a kill and a service ace by Morgan, winning the match 25-22 and forcing a fifth set. 

Set 5
The Bucs started off hot in set five, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. Pais-Marden had two kills during this run. After calling a timeout, the Bulldogs responded by going on a 6-0 run. Down 9-5, the Bucs tied it with two kills from Morgan and Pais-Marden as well as two service aces by Julia Fledderjohn. Despite the effort, the Bulldogs outscored the Bucs 5-3 to end it and win set five 15-13. 

As a team, Charleston Southern had 59 kills in the match. Morgan led with 15 and Pais-Marden was right behind her with 13. Emilee Karelse had 38 assists, and Angelika Rusin had 23 digs.

Charleston Southern is back at home next Friday, as they welcome High Point to the Buc Dome for a 6 p.m. battle. This match will be aired on ESPN+