CHARLOTTE – Charleston Southern Volleyball opened the Carry Brown era on Friday afternoon in the Charlotte Invitational playing the hosts and picking up the first win under the new coach in the nightcap against Coastal Carolina. The Bucs responded from a three-set sweep in their first contest with a five-set thriller over the Chanticleers to end their first contest.
Match One Recap: Charleston Southern – 0, Charlotte – 3
The 49ers took the first set after getting out to an early lead and took it 25-12. In the second, the Buccaneers immediately rebounded jumping out to an early 7-3 edge. Charlotte drew even at 11-11, but CSU continued to string together multiple points and lead late in the set. The 49ers tied it back up at 22 and had a three-point flurry to get the set by a 25-22 score.
Charleston Southern fell behind early in the third but used a four-point scoring stretch to reel the 49ers back in during the middle of the set. The teams traded points the rest of the match with Charlotte taking it by a 25-15 scoreline.
Jyriah Morgan led the team in kills collecting ten while
Giada Pais-Marden and
Skylar Yates had seven and six respectively.
Ilaria Durante led all players with 19 assists on the afternoon. There were a pair of Bucs that finished in double figures in digs with
Angelika Rusin notching 14 while Yates had 10.
Match Two Recap: Charleston Southern – 3, Coastal Carolina – 2
In the first set, Coastal got out to an early lead with a 25-13 win, but the Buccaneers immediately rebounded claiming narrow victories in the second and third sets. During the second, Coastal stayed in front for most of it until a five-point burst from the Bucs put them ahead for the first time in the set at 15-14 following a kill by Young. The teams continued to go back-and-forth and CSU notched the final three points of the set to win it 27-25 and even it at one apiece.
During the third, Charleston Southern led by as many as five at 10-5, but Coastal Carolina was able to slowly cut the lead and tie it back up. CSU won the set on an attack error to claim the 25-23 win. The Chanticleers clinched the fourth to force the fifth set.
During the final set, the Bucs sprinted out to a 3-0 advantage, then 8-3 and eventually 11-6. Coastal brought the score within a point three separate times including a 14-13 deficit. Pais-Marden sealed the historic win with her 19
th kill of the contest off Durante's 37
th assist.
Rusin led the team in digs finishing with 24 and had Durante join her in double figures at 13. The Bucs' defense saw a huge boost in the second set and on with the first career appearance of
Brenna Rowland as she collected a match-high six block assists, helping power the team to 11 total blocks. Yates also had another solid showing, finishing with eight kills and nine digs.
The Buccaneers return to the court in the Charlotte Invitational on Saturday with a first serve slated for 1:00 p.m. against Elon.
