CHARLESTON – Charleston Southern finished Day One of the CSU Tournament presented by O'Charley's and Panera Bread on Friday with a five-set nail-biter over North Carolina A&T. With the victory, first-year head coach Carry Brown collected her first career home win with CSU from inside the Buc Dome. The team was led offensively by Indigo Young as she posted double-digit kills in each contest on the day.
 
Game One Recap: Chattanooga – 3, Charleston Southern – 0
 
Chattanooga claimed an early lead in the first set, busting out a 6-0 run to gain a 9-3 edge, and were able to slowly chip away at the Mocs' lead. The Buccaneers were able to draw within two after a 3-0 stretch to put their deficit at 23-21, but Chattanooga took it 25-22.
 
During the second, CSU was able to take the early advantage, leading 6-4. Chattanooga brought the score even at 9, but the Bucs' offense rattled off a 5-1 run as they got kills from three different players along with a service ace by Ilaria Durante, giving CSU a 14-10 lead. Chattanooga immediately brought it back even and the teams traded the lead up until its end when the Mocs pushed their lead to 2-0.
 
The third continued to see much of the same as the teams went point-for-point. Near the start of the set, both teams were able to have a 4-0 scoring run. Charleston Southern held the lead at 16-14, but the Bucs committed six errors on the next eight points, surrendering their lead. Chattanooga put the final touch on the set with Morgan Romano's 13^th kill of the afternoon to win it 25-22.
 
Young led CSU in kills with ten with Brenna Rowland and Emmy Rollins each having solid outings as they picked up seven and six in just two sets of work. Durante dished 32 assists in her performance for the game-high.
 
On the defensive end, Angelika Rusin finished with 13 digs with Durante adding 12. As a team, they collected 43 as Faith Burch added six.
 
Game Two Recap: North Carolina A&T – 2, Charleston Southern – 3
 
In the final match of the opening day of the CSU Tournament presented by Charley's and Panera Bread, the Buccaneers were able to complete a come-from-behind victory over the North Carolina A&T Aggies to keep the visitors winless.
 
In the first, the Aggies were able to take control of the match early, gaining a 13-8 edge. The Buccaneers continued to hang around as they drew within one at 15-14 and 16-15. However, the Aggies were able to get the first by a 25-19 decision.
 
In the second, the teams traded points yet again, but the Buccaneers' offense played on another level during the set. The team was able to claim it at 25-20 while hitting .481, having 13 kills and no attack errors. Sophia Kluska sealed the second on a kill to cap off a 3-0 scoring run.
 
During the third, the Aggies' offense had their turn of an unblemished set as they did not have any attack errors. They hit .556 with 15 kills and claimed the middle set at 25-23. This saw the teams swap the lead yet again but this one had the Bucs rally late to tie it at 22 apiece, then 23 before dropping it.
 
The fourth saw Charleston Southern put their foot on the gas, racing out to a 9-2 lead, featuring an early 3-0 and 5-0 scoring run. The Aggies were able to draw back within two points, but four unanswered from the hosts, giving them a 17-11 edge, slammed the door on the comeback opportunity. They cruised through the rest of the set for a 25-18 win in it. The Buccaneer defense was able to start to clamp down on the Aggie attack in the set, holding them to .029 in the frame.
 
In the fifth and final set, the teams continued to match each point the other threw at one another. Near the middle of it, the Bucs pushed ahead to 9-7 after three unanswered but allowed three in a row to fall back behind 10-9. Giada Pais-Marden played her best points of the night during the set, collecting six kills including the 14^th and 15^th with the latter, keeping the match alive as the Aggies were serving for match point. The night ended with Maya Johnson having an attack error that sent the Buc Dome into a frenzy as they won their second five-set competition of the season thus far.
 
Young ended the night with a remarkable .682 clip, tying for the fourth-highest in a match in school history. She had 16 kills to go with a single error on 22 attempts. Pais-Marden also had 16 kills, her third time reaching double figures in the stat through just six games. Skylar Yates collected ten on the night with Jyriah Morgan adding seven. Durante finished the night with 34 assists with Kahea Carvalho dishing 14 on the night.
 
At the night on the defensive end, the Buccaneers continued to see Rowland be a force as she collected a pair of solo blocks and a block assist. Pais-Marden had three block assists and Young added two. With digs, there with six players who finished with five or more as the team had 55 total. Yates led the team with 16 with Rusin at 10. Durante had eight, Carvalho with seven, Mallory Neale at six and Pais-Marden added five.
 
The Buccaneers return to play in the Buc Dome tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. as they host Southern Illinois (4-0) who are fresh off a 2-0 day, the only school to go unblemished to complete the CSU Invitational presented by O'Charley's and Panera Bread. The matchup with the Salukis will be streamed live on ESPN+ with tickets for the match available in person beginning tomorrow morning.