HUNTINGTON, W.VA. – Peyton Thompson and Skylar Yates combined for 30 kills and 21 digs in a 3-1 loss to Kent State on Saturday in Charleston Southern's final match at the Marshall Invite.

The Bucs opened strong with a 25-13 win in the opening set before the Golden Flashes rallied to take the final three by scores of 25-20, 25-20, 25-23.

CSU is home next weekend when it hosts the Chucktown Throwdown at the Buccaneer Fieldhouse. The field will consist of College of Charleston, Montana and UNCG.

Stat Leaders 
Peyton Thompson – 18 kills, 9 digs, 3 block assists
Skylar Yates – 12 kills, 12 digs, 2 aces
Indigo Young – 8 kills, 2 block assists
Sophia Kluska – 7 kills
Emilee Karelse – 25 assists
Angelika Rusin – 18 digs
Ilaria Durante – 10 digs
Emily Struckmeyer – 3 block assists

How It Happened 
CSU dominated the opening set, hitting .406 while committing only one attack error. The Bucs scored six straight points to build a 7-1 lead and were ahead by as many as 14 at 19-5. Thompson had six kills in the set including the clincher in the 25-13 win.

The Bucs scored seven of the first nine points of set two, but Kent State used an 10-3 run of its own to take an 18-14 lead en route to the win. Three kills by Thompson and two by Young helped give CSU a 9-6 lead in the third set. The Golden Flashes scored 13 of the next 17 points, however, to surge in front.

The final set was tight the whole way. The Bucs erased a four-point deficit, and the set was tied four times down the stretch. With Kent State leading 24-21, a pair of kills by Thompson saved two match points.