The Charleston Southern Buccaneers started off conference play with a 3-0 sweep of the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs on Thursday night at Paul Porter Arena. They took set one by a 25-21 score, set two 25-16 and set three 25-10. 

After falling behind 4-1 to begin set one, the Bucs went on a 9-4 run to take a 13-9 lead. After Gardner Webb tied it at 13, both teams traded points until the Bucs finished the match on a 5-1 run to take match one 25-21. The Bucs had 13 kills in 40 total attempts in the set. 

In set two, Gardner-Webb once again jumped out to a lead at 6-2. This was followed by a 7-0 run by the Buccaneers, led by Peyton Thompson, who had three service aces and two kills on that run. This run was followed by another 4-0 run in favor of CSU, as Skylar Yates, reigning Freshman of the Week, as well as Thompson had two kills each. The Bucs did not look back after that, as Indigo Young finished set two with back-to-back kills. 

Set three was a much more dominating victory, as CSU began the match on a 15-5 run and the night ended with three kills from Thompson, Emily Struckmeyer and Thompson once more. Emilee Karlsee was credited with the assist on all three kills. She had 31 on the night, which was the most between the two teams. 

Thompson led the Bucs in two categories; kills (13) and aces (4). Yates also contributed 10 kills on the night. Reigning Libero of the Week, Angelika Rusin led the way with 18 digs. 

With the win, Charleston Southern improved their overall record to 8-7 and began conference play on the right foot. They look to make it three wins in a row this Saturday, when they welcome the Campbell Camels to Buccaneer Fieldhouse at 4 p.m. for their Big South Conference home opener.