CHARLESTON – Friday night, Charleston Southern traveled to Asheville, North Carolina, for a Big South volleyball match-up against the UNC Asheville Bulldogs. The Buccaneers defeated UNCA in four sets (25-18, 27-25, 15-25, 25-22).

A 6-0 CSU run in the opening set proved to be the key momentum shifter, giving the Bucs a 13-9 lead they would not relinquish. A subsequent 7-2 run closed out the frame in favor of Charleston Southern, securing a 1-0 set lead in both teams' first conference match of the 2025 season.

In set two, CSU's kill leader further etched her name into the Charleston Southern record book. In a tightly contested set that extended into extra points, the 26th point for CSU came via a kill from Skylar Yates. That kill wasn't just another point—it was the 1,000th of Yates' career, a milestone achieved by only nine other Buccaneers in the program's history. CSU would win the set one point later, 27-25.

An 8-1 run by the hosting Bulldogs set the tone for set three. Despite several 3-0 bursts by the Bucs, the early deficit proved too much to overcome, and UNC Asheville claimed the set 25-15.

The fourth and final set was nearly as tight as the second. With the score tied at 16, a block by CSU seniors Sophia Kluska and Emily Struckmeyer put the Buccaneers back in front. CSU's blocking performance on Friday night not only helped secure the win, but also stood out as one of the strongest defensive showings in recent program history (see the Notables section for more detail). Although the Bulldogs committed fewer service errors than CSU, one of their 11 ultimately ended the match—25-22, CSU wins 3-1.

This victory marked Charleston Southern's 10th win of the season—the first time the program has reached double-digit wins during the Head Coach Carry Brown era—and their second conference victory, preserving their undefeated record in Big South play.

Notables:

• This is the first team in the Carry Brown era to record 10 wins. A milestone that is even more impressive considering the team still has 12 regular season battles remaining.

• Excluding the COVID season, this is the first time the VolleyBucs have began conference play 2-0 since 2016.

• Skylar Yates recorded her 1,000th career kill during Friday night's second set.

• CSU's 16 total blocks in Asheville is tied for 13th most by a team in program history.

• Those 16 total blocks is not only the most this season, but the most by a team since 2018.

• Oliwia Durka's 6 total blocks is a new CSU career-high.

• Faith Burch recorded her 400th career kill Friday night.

• Presley Morris recorded her 300th career dig as well Friday night.

• Morris' 28 digs is just one short of her career-high that she set earlier this season against The Citadel (Aug. 30).

• Sophia Kluska's 10 kills and 11 digs mark her third double-double performance of the season.

Up Next:

The Bucs will travel to Spartanburg, South Carolina's G.B. Hodge Center for a 4:00 PM Big South battle Saturday, October 4th. The match is set to be streamed on ESPN+.

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