CHARLESTON, S.C. - After defeating High Point the previous evening, CSU returned to their home volleyball court to take on another conference foe, the Radford Highlanders.

Saturday marked the Bucs final home match of the season and would serve as the program's senior night as outside hitter Savannah Freeman and team manager Raihou Wong were honored. Before the match began, a tribute video to Freeman and Wong was displayed on the Buc Dome's new and improved video board. In the video, Savannah Freeman had some words of reflection regarding her time as a Buccaneer volleyball player.

"I would like to thank Coach Brown, Coach Emilie, Kacper, Raihou, and all of my teammates for giving me the best senior season I could have ever asked for. You all really brought back the love of volleyball for me, and I could not thank you all more for that."

Freeman also had a few words of advice for the rest of the volleyball roster who still have many playing days in front of them.

"Treat every day, practice, and game as if it's your last. This (senior) day is going to come a lot quicker than you would ever imagine… so really give it your all every day."

After many photos taken, flowers given, and tears shed, it was time to play one final match of the season in the Buc Dome.

Just like the previous night, the Bucs kept it close. The first set was back and forth between Radford and CSU and even went into extra points. Luckily 15 kills on only 5 errors for CSU would give the Bucs the edge as they took the first set 28-26.

The Highlanders came out hungry in set number two and although the Bucs would make several plays, the consistency of Radford would even the score as the Highlanders would take the set 25-22.

With everything tied at one set a piece, it was anyone's ball game. The five minute intermission between sets two and three allowed for coaches Carry Brown and Emilie Selvidge and Kacper Dobrowolski to regroup the team and make adjustments to better execute the game plan. In the third set, that execution was on full display. The largest margin of victory was found in set number three as the blazing Bucs took the round by a score of 25-19.

Set four was all Radford until the final few points. With Radford up 24-18, it seemed to many Buc Dome spectators that a fifth set was guaranteed. That was until the Bucs rattled off five consecutive points. With the score (24-23) still in favor of Radford, the Bucs had an opportunity to do something amazing. Unfortunately, an inevitable Radford point would seal the set and a fifth set senior night finish was about to go down.

In the fifth set, the Bucs home court advantage would keep their exhausted bodies in gear. The Bucs would lead the set 12-9, but after a challenged call or two, would find themselves in a 12-12 tied final set. The teams went point for point and the 15 point victorious threshold would not even be enough. Radford would take the set 17-15 and although the outcome felt gut-wrenching, everyone in the gym knew for certain this CSU group is an improved and competitive volleyball team. 

Despite the nail-biting loss, multiple Bucs put up impressive numbers on the stat sheet. Faith Burch would break her career-high and lead the team in kills with 19. Skylar Yates was not far behind with 17 kills of her own in addition to 13 digs. Sophia Kluska would also finish in double-double territory with 13 kills and 10 digs.

Middle blocker Brenna Rowland would record 9 kills and a team-high 5 blocks. The young tandem of Presley Morris and Tristin Sutton would combine for 6 (three each) of the team's 8 total service aces.

In addition to Burch breaking some personal records, Ilaria Durante would do the same. She broke her season-high in kills with 4, but even more impressively, she would break her career-high in assists with 56 against the Highlanders.

The final match of the VolleyBucs regular season will be next Friday and has some serious playoff implications. The match will be in Clinton, S.C. as the Buccaneers (4-9 conference record) travel to Presbyterian College (4-9 conference record).

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