CHARLESTON, S.C. - After five consecutive matches in the Buc Dome. The Charleston Southern volleyball squad got back on the road for another weekend of Big South conference play.

Early Friday evening, the Bucs arrived in Rock Hill, South Carolina to play the Winthrop Eagles. Coming off of their best week of the season thus far, CSU hoped to compete better in their second matchup of the season against the Eagles. Outside of Faith Burch's 8 kills on a .250 attacking percentage, the Bucs could not find much rhythm. Winthrop would secure the win in three sets and remain near the top of the Big South volleyball standings. Fortunately for CSU, they had an opportunity to redeem themselves and pick up another conference win before officially heading home to the Lowcountry.

A rematch with the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs is one the Bucs have been ready for since the initial match finished. Saturday afternoon, the Bucs had their chance. Coming into the match, both groups knew how crucial this matchup would be in determining who would have a more secure route to the Big South Volleyball Conference Championship tournament next month.

In the first set, only a few points into the match, Head Coach Carry Brown asked an official about a specific play to better understand why a call was not made. Seconds later, after being told by the official that a conversation was not happening, a yellow and red card were sent in Brown's direction. Not letting the decision affect their composure, only their motivation to win, Carry's crew erupted with energy to leave zero doubt who the better team on the court was.

All of the sets were close (25-22, 27-25, 25-21), but none of them were in favor of the hosting Bulldogs. The CSU 3-0 sweep was celebrated accordingly by the VolleyBucs, and several of the team's members performed well on the court, as well as on the stat sheet.

The Bucs' sole libero of the weekend, Julia Fledderjohn, was responsible for 27 digs, 5 assists, and a service ace. Sophomore Brenna Rowland added 3 blocks to her season total in addition to finishing second on the team in kills (12). Ilaria Durante continued to show why she's the VolleyBucs' quarterback as she dished out 35 assists, as well as digging out 19 balls. Emily Struckmeyer and Savannah Freeman recorded 5 kills a piece to aid the strong CSU offensive effort. The reigning Big South Co-Player of the Week, Skylar Yates, also made her mark of the match tallying 9 digs, 1 service ace, and 14 kills on 55 attempts with an astonishing zero attacking errors!

As a group CSU recorded 87 digs, 7 service aces, 41 assists, and 46 kills.

The Bucs will continue conference play next Friday at 6:00 PM back in North Carolina when they face off against a team they have already taken down once, UNC Asheville.

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