CHARLESTON – Friday evening, Charleston Southern would begin Big South competition with a quick road trip to Presbyterian College to face the Blue Hose. CSU would start the conference season with a 3-1 victory over PC (25-21, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23).

The (4-8) Blue Hose are coached by first year head coach, Maddie Moss. Although many members of the 2024 Blue Hose roster, including the head coach, have departed from Clinton – a sense of revenge resided in the Buccaneer roster as their first conference match approached. Back in November of 2024, the Bucs and Blue Hose' last regular season match was held in the Templeton Center with one important award for the winning team, the final spot in the 2024 Big South volleyball postseason tournament. Presbyterian would win the match on their home floor, ending CSU's season.

A desire for a change of momentum was evident to start the match as CSU would score 8 of set one's first 10 points. After trading points for the remainder of the period, a Faith Burch kill would seal the deal 25-21 off an assist from fellow junior, Presley Morris.

Although CSU held the lead for the early portion of set number two, a 5-0 PC run would tie the score at 14. Two Buccaneer points, including Oliwia Durka's only kill of the night would give the Bucs a short-lived lead as another 5-0 run by the home-team Hose would put PC back in front 19-16. The period would remain competitive, but not enough to flip the verdict – Presbyterian winning set two 25-20.

In set number three, it seemed that every point PC scored, the Bucs had three answers. A 5-1 run to start the period, courtesy of a balanced Buccaneer attack including kills from Sophia Kluska, Skylar Yates, and Emily Struckmeyer, would set the tone for CSU. One of Presbyterian's 8 service aces would occur on the final play of set three as Head Coach Carry Brown's Buccaneers would go up 2-1 in the match – CSU taking set number three, 25-20.

The final set of the match was undeniably the most competitive, yet full of the longest runs of the night. Charleston Southern would begin the eventual final period with a 6-1 stretch. PC answered with a 4-0 run that was immediately met by a 5-0 Buccaneer response. The middle portion of the set was more back-and-forth, with no team scoring more than three consecutive points. That was until Presbyterian ran off the longest hot streak of the evening – down 20-15 and facing their first loss of conference competition, the Blue Hose rattled off eight consecutive points, regaining the lead by a 23-20 margin. The streak would be broken by Charleston Southern's true freshman outside hitter, Emersyn Reiter, who would only record one kill in the contest. Two Sophia Kluska kills and a successful attack by the Bucs' lead blocker Emma Bednarek would give CSU a 24-23 lead. Needing just one more point to complete the goal of revenge, Bednarek and fellow junior Laila Hilton would block an attack by the home team and seal the victory – Bucs win the match 3-1.

Notables:

• Skylar Yates led the Bucs in kills (15) and service aces (2) for the 5th time this season.

• Yates now has 989 career kills – just 11 away from the 1,000-Kill club.

• Presley Morris finished the match just two digs (27) shy of tying her career-high.

• Emily Struckmeyer recorded her 100th kill of the 2025 season (she currently ranks 2nd on the team in the category).

• Tristin Sutton led the team in assists (23) for the 10th time this season.

• Emma Bednarek, who leads the Bucs in total blocks, recorded her 50th of the season Friday evening.

Up Next:

Charleston Southern's final non-conference match of the season will be played in the Buc Dome this coming Tuesday (September 30th) against North Carolina Central. The match will begin at 5:00 PM and will be broadcast on ESPN+. The Buccaneers are 9-1 against the Eagles all-time.

For all the most up-to-date coverage involving CSU Volleyball, follow us on Instagram and X/Twitter @csubucs_vb.