RADFORD, Va. – Charleston Southern volleyball is off to a hot start in 2021 after sweeping away Radford in six sets over the weekend capping with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-18) dominant showing Sunday from the Dedmon Center in Big South action.

Just six days after sweeping the defending champion Winthrop in seven sets, the Bucs (4-0, 4-0 Big South) made quick work of Radford (2-2, 2-2 Big South) in a span of 20 hours to continue their best start to a season since 2016 when they began Big South play with a 5-0 record.

Dayana Chara capped a big weekend tying her season-high of 13 kills to lead the way as Paige Reagor added 12 and Peyton Thompson finished with 10 – the second time the trio combined for 30-plus kills in a match.

Just as good as the Bucs' offense was, their defense was even better holding Radford to .080 on the day and never allowing the Highlanders to hit above .105 in a single set over the weekend.

The freshman trio of Kaileigh Ammons, Angelika Rusin and Layla Sarvis had six service aces with Rusin's second coming in a walk-off fashion to complete the sweep. Emma Minnick added 36 assists Sunday while Sarvis paced the backline with 15 digs.

First Set

• Charleston Southern dominated the first set from the opening serve getting out to a 7-2 lead before extending it to 20-13 and eventually 25-15 for the 10-point first set win
• The usual suspects of Paige Reagor, Peyton Thompson and Dayana Chara combined for 12 of the 14 kills
• Emma Minnick had 10 assists and five digs while Kalieigh Ammons, Angelika Rusin and Layla Sarvis each had an ace
• CSU's defense held the Highlanders right at .100 for the fourth-straight set in the weekend series

Second Set

• Dayana Chara had six kills to lead the way for the Bucs while Thompson and Reagor added two each
• Emma Minnick added another 11 assists while Layla Sarvis and Kaileigh Ammon added another service ace apiece
• Despite just two total blocks through two sets, Charleston Southern held Radford below .050 in the second set

Third Set

• Dayana Chara had her final four kills to match her season high of 13 and pace the Bucs
• Both Thompson and Reagor reached double figures giving the Bucs three athletes with 10-or-more kills in three of their four wins
• CSU hit .351 in the final set to close the match dominating from start to finish with wins of 25-15, 25-18 and 25-18
• The Bucs only had one service ace after multiple the first two sets, but better late than never as freshman Angelika Rusin secured the CSU sweep with an ace on the match point

News and Notes

• Charleston Southern has now won five-straight matches against Radford, their longest against the Highlanders in program history
• The 3-0, 3-1, 3-0 and 3-0 wins give the Bucs 12 wins in their first 13 sets played besting their 2018 mark winning 12 of the first 15 sets
• Charleston Southern's 4-0 start to Big South play is also the best since a 5-0 record to begin the 2016 season
• Paige Reagor's 12 kills Sunday made it four-straight in double figures to start the 2021 spring season for the sophomore
• Dayana Chara tied her season-best of 13 kills and the Bucs had a season-high of 45 in a three-set match

Up Next
Charleston Southern returns home to host USC Upstate Feb. 25-26 for a two-game series from Buccaneer Field House.