GAME DAY
Charleston Southern is riding a five game win streak after a huge come from behind 3-1 win over the College of Charleston Tuesday, at Carolina First Arena. The matchup between the local rivals has historically been one sided, with the Cougars holding wins in the previous eight meetings. The two teams have not played since 2004 however, and it’s clear that the Bucs have improved drastically. In the most recent contest, CSU dropped the first set 25-23 but bounced back with 25-15 and 25-22 wins, to take a 2-1 lead. After trailing 17-9 in the fourth set, the Bucs dug deep and fought for a 26-24 win to take the 3-1 victory. Battling back in the final set could prove to be a turning point in CSU’s season, with Coach Danyel Bellush saying, “They showed me a lot about their commitment and hearth tonight.” It appears that the Bucs are peaking at just the right time, with the conference schedule beginning with a home game vs. Presbyterian.
BRING ON THE BLUE HOSE
Charleston Southern is set to kick off Big South competition with the Presbyterian College Blue Hose, Saturday at the CSU Field House. PC comes into the contest with a 5-9 record, including an 0-5 mark on the road. In their most recent match, the Blue Hose defeated USC Upstate 3-0 in their only home match of the season, on Sept. 22nd. Leading the way for PC are Lisa Shelley and Presley Mabrey, who both sit in the top 10 for kills in the Big South, averaging 3.18 and 2.96 kills per set, respectively. Last year, the Bucs split in a pair of 3-1 matches with the Blue Hose. The CSU win came late in the season on Nov. 14th and was part of a three match win streak within the conference. Amanda Hill led the way posting a double-double with 21 kills and 11 digs. Hill also broke the CSU single season record for kills during that match and went on to tally 499 kills for the year.
CSU Game Notes
Live Stats
5-STAR PERFORMER
Referred to by her teammates as a 5-Star performer, Amanda Hill gets the job done with kills, digs, blocks, assists and service aces. The Big South also recognized her performance during the fourth week of the season, naming her the Big South Volleyball Player of the Week on Sept. 21st. CSU went 4-1 on the week, including four straight wins at the S.C. State Spikefest. Hill recorded 72 kills, 4.24 kills per set and a .384 attack percent en route to recording her 1000th career kill. She also tallied double-doubles in all five matches and came up with seven aces, 35 digs and five blocks.
SPIKEFEST SWEEP
Charleston Southern had a big weekend at the S.C. State Spikefest, winning all four games while Amanda Hill recorded her 1000th career kill. In a sweep over Alabama State, the Bucs hit .460 and allowed just 10, six and nine points in the sets, respectively. CSU finished off Saturday with a win over N.C. Central and had another 3-0 sweep. Day two of the tourney brought another pair of wins, starting with a 3-1 win over the Citadel, the second against the Bulldogs for CSU this year. The Bucs finished off playing the host team, taking their third sweep of the weekend, after another 15 kills for Hill. Hill was named to the All-Tournament team thanks to her efforts.
1000 KILL CLUB
Junior outside hitter Amanda Hill recorded her 1000th kill when she sent down her first kill against N.C. Central on Sept. 18th. She went on to record seven kills in the first set alone and 12 for the match, to lead all players. Hill is the fifth player in CSU volleyball history to reach the 1000 kill club, and the quickest to do so. Just one other player (Carrie O’Conner) reached the plateau in her junior year, before going on to set the career mark at 1469 kills.
CORI’S BLOCK PARTY
Middle Blocker, Cori Holeman has really come into her own during her junior campaign. Not only is Holeman second on the team in kills, but she has put up a team best 54 blocks and 1.06 blocks per set. She is currently one of only two players in the Big South who averages over one block per set. Holeman sent down a career high eight blocks (1-7) against Georgia Southern on Sept. 16th, which ties for the second highest total in the Big South this year. She also recorded seven blocks in the big win over the College of Charleston.
BUC-WILD AT THE BUC DOME
Charleston Southern had a big win in their home opener, running away with a 3-0 sweep over Savannah State. The Bucs used a .556 attack percent in the opening set to take a 25-5 win. There was more of the same in set two, with CSU dominating in a 25-6 performance while hitting an even .500. The Bucs completed the sweep with a 25-18 score, after nine players registered kills for the match. The win marks the fourth consecutive year that CSU has started with a win in front of their home crowd.
NICE START AT N.C. STATE
Charleston Southern played tough in their opening weekend at the N.C. State Hilton RTP Classic. The Bucs went 2-2 with a pair of convincing wins over Davidson and Morgan State. They also went on to test the host team, N.C. State in a 3-0 loss and finished the tourney with a 3-2 heartbreaker vs. Campbell. After winning the fourth set vs. Campbell 25-12, CSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth and final frame. Unfortunately, the Bucs couldn’t slow down a 9-0 run from the Camels and dropped the set, 15-10. Amanda Hill was named to the All-Tourney team thanks to her efforts, compiling 53 kill and 45 digs over the four matches.
EXPERIENCE MATTERS
Last season, most of the speculation on the CSU volleyball team centered around how talented they were, but at the same time were extremely young. It’s amazing how much difference a year’s time can make. The Bucs return 10 players from last season’s roster, including all starters. A 2008 team with no seniors now has two great team leaders with seniors, Nichole Diller and Sam Sasan. The upperclassmen finally outnumber the underclassmen with six juniors, all who had significant playing time last year. If experience matters, then the 2009 Lady Bucs are set to make some noise in the Big South.
FANTASTIC FINISH
Charleston Southern is coming off of one of the most exciting finishes to a season in recent history. The Bucs finished the 2008 regular season with a three straight wins over conference opponents. With those key Big South wins, the Lady Bucs moved up two spots to claim the sixth seed entering the playoffs. That was the best seed in the conference tournament the Lady Bucs have had since 2002. Look for that momentum to carry over into this year’s conference schedule.
PROGRESS IN THE PROGRAM
After the 2008 season, it’s clear that coach Danyel Bellush has assembled one of the best teams in her tenured career. Last season CSU volleyball had the most wins the program has seen in 15 years. CSU strung together six wins at one point in the season, including a 9-2 stretch over 11 games. It was the largest win streak that the Lady Bucs have had since they started 7-0 in the 2003 season. CSU had a slow start in 2008, playing the likes of Clemson and Syracuse in a tournament to open the season, but at the end of their biggest win streak, the Lady Bucs boasted a 9-6 overall record.
KING OF THE HILL
Junior outside hitter, Amanda Hill, not only led the Big South in kills in 2008, but also broke a CSU single season record with 499 total kills. She also made her way into the record books in several other categories. Hill broke the single season record for attack attempts with 1296 and moved into 9th place in service aces with 40. She currently sits in 4th place in games played in a season with 128, along with several of her teammates. She was one of four teammates who recorded over 300 digs this season, and Hill’s 344 digs was good enough for 16th overall in a single season.
REWRITTEN RECORD BOOK
Senior setter, Sam Sasan also had her own truckload of top finishes added to the CSU record books in 2008. She is in 9th place for single season assists and also moved into 4th place with 2973 career assists. Sasan nearly broke the single season games played record, coming in 2nd with 129 as well as moving into 15th place on the career list, with a season still left. Sasan had a breakout season in the digs category, recording 357, which was second on the team and 14th in the record books. She is also in 9th and 10th place in career digs and aces with 848 and 94, respectively. All in all, Hill and Sasan, along with their teammates, accounted for 23 new additions to the CSU record book in 2008.
PRE-SEASON POSTINGS
Charleston Southern was picked to finish seventh in conference play this season. After a sixth place finish last season, CSU will look to surprise some teams in Big South competition.
2009 Big South Pre-Season Projections
Rk Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Liberty (9) 81
2. Coastal Carolina 67
3. UNC Asheville 62
4. High Point 51
5. Winthrop 49
6. Presbyterian 28
7. Charleston Southern 27
8. Radford 24
9. Gardner-Webb 16