CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern volleyball put a stamp on its first weekend of the 2022 campaign Saturday evening, dropping a 3-1 decision to St. John's in the final match of the Zaxby's presents the VolleyBucs VolleyPalooza. The Buccaneers claimed set one before falling in the next three by scores of 25-20, 20-25, 20-25, 22-25.

SET ONE WINNER
The Bucs claimed their only set win early in the match, riding a hot start by racing out to a 4-1 advantage thanks to strong defense resulting in four-consecutive attack errors by the Red Storm. The third point of the series was a block by Peyton Thompson and Indigo Young. St. John's (3-0) worked its way back to within 6-5 on back-to-back service aces from Sheena Yoshioka but were unable to pull even until 7-7. Skylar Yates then kept CSU on top with a kill, a lead it maintained throughout the set and never relinquished.

Charleston Southern (1-2) grew its margin to as much as three by the midway point on a trio of occasions, the last coming at 15-12 entering the media timeout. Once again, St. John's battled to within one point but a service error followed by a block from Young and Emilee Karelse widened the gap back to three before Young's kill made it a four-point difference, 18-14, and forcing the visitors into a timeout. CSU held a three-point lead when Yates' kill gave it 20 points, and only a Wiktoria Kowalczyk kill cut the deficit closer. The final-three points all went the Buccaneers' way, locking up the opening set.

LATE RUN SEALS SET TWO
Another competitive see-saw affair happened in the next set with both sides playing close throughout. Charleston Southern held a 9-7 edge before four-straight points put St. John's in front, 11-7. A stretch of three-in-a-row for the Bucs, on kills from Thompson and Young as well as an attack error by a SJU player was the difference in CSU reclaiming the lead, 13-12. It stayed in the Buccaneers' favor at 17-15 until Lucrezia Lodi started a set-changing 7-0 run, flipping the score to 22-17 late in the set. Charleston Southern would not get any closer than two the rest of the way as the Red Storm leveled the set triumphs.

SAME SCORE, DIFFERENT SET
St. John's matched the score in the next set, assisted by a quick start before a Giada Pais-Marden kill knotted things up at 4-4. The points would be shared back-and-forth with ties coming at 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8 and eventually 9-9, but it was Rachele Rastelli's kill that opened a span of four-straight points for the visitors and they never looked back. The Bucs cut the gap to as close as two several times but were unable to get over the hump despite their best efforts.

CLOSING IT OUT IN SET FOUR
The Buccaneers attempted to pull the set scores even once again but were unable to do so in the final set of the weekend. After Ilaria Durante served up an ace to open the action, the Red Storm responded turned the tables into their favor as four-straight points made it 5-2. CSU closed to within one two times, 6-5 and 9-8, but a 3-1 spurt created a three-point margin once again, 12-9. The Bucs would not get any closer than two until another Durante service ace made it 18-17 and St. John's used the opportunity to call timeout. The Red Storm went on to score the next-three points, widening the gap to four, 21-17. Once again, however, Charleston Southern was unable to cut it to less than two the remainder of the set, dropping the finale.

STANDOUTS
Young put up her strongest numbers of the weekend, connecting on 12-of-16 total attacks for kills with only one error for a .688 hitting percentage. Pais-Marden led the squad with 13 kills, while Thompson added her name to the list of those in double figures with 11.

Karelse returned to the lineup to produce 30 assists, while Angelika Rusin was credited with 18 digs. Emily Struckmeyer finished with two solo blocks and five block assists, aiding the cause.

UP NEXT
The Buccaneers will remain at home for their next outing, a 6 p.m. Tuesday contest against South Carolina State. It also will serve as the next ESPN+ broadcast for the program.