CHARLESTON, S.C. – Peyton Thompson matched her career high of 26 kills, amounting to 51 in her last two matches, to lead Charleston Southern to a four-set victory (25-13, 24-26, 25-18, 25-17) over Gardner-Webb University Saturday evening inside Buccaneer Fieldhouse.
 
Kaileigh Ammons followed Thompson up with 14 kills of her own, and Indigo Young added 13 kills to lead the Bucs offense. Ashleigh Holweger had a strong showing as well, collecting a match-high 21 digs.
 
Charleston Southern opened a 10-5 lead early in the opening set and did not look back from there. A collection of kills from Ammons and Ashley Collitt helped extend the lead to 17-10 to create enough separation to see out a 25-13 first set victory.
 
Gardner-Webb would then make a little noise in the early stages of the second stanza, jumping out to a 7-3 lead. It wasn't until the latter half of the set that the Bucs found some success as a quick 8-2 run brought things back all square at 24, but Gardner Webb finished the frame with the last two points to claim the second set.
 
Charleston Southern then answered the call in the remaining two sets, jumping out to an 11-6 lead in the third set and a 14-7 lead in the fourth to full take control of the match. Gardner-Webb was never able to find traction on either side of the court in the final frames, dropping the third 25-18 and the final set 25-14.
 
Charleston Southern finished out their home schedule with the victory over Gardner-Webb, as the Bucs will see their final two matches of the regular season on the road.
 
Up Next
The Bucs head to Hampton, Virginia to take on the Hampton University Pirates Friday, November 12. The Big South contest is slated for a 6 p.m. start.