CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina State showed resilience in a pair of tightly contested sets Thursday before falling 3-0 to Charleston Southern in women's volleyball action at McAlister Field House.
The Bulldogs (1-3) pushed the Buccaneers (3-1) throughout the opening and closing frames before Charleston Southern secured the 25-23, 25-9, 25-22 victory. The match featured 19 ties and nine lead changes, highlighting the competitive stretches between the two teams.
South Carolina State came out aggressive in the opening set, recording 16 kills and hitting .209. The Bulldogs stayed within striking distance throughout a set that featured nine ties and four lead changes. After Charleston Southern moved ahead 24-21,
SC State answered with a kill from
Carra Pierre-Louis and a service ace from Pierre-Louis to pull within 24-23 before the Buccaneers escaped with the 25-23 win.
Charleston Southern gained momentum in the second set and took a 25-9 decision, but the Bulldogs responded with one of their strongest offensive performances of the match in the third.
SC State opened the final frame with energy, building an early 6-2 advantage behind kills from Pierre-Louis,
Ki'ra Wright,
Amani Hawkins and
Kenna Harris. The Bulldogs continued to battle and held leads of 17-16, 18-17 and 20-19 during a back-and-forth set. Charleston Southern eventually used a late surge to take the lead and closed out the match, 25-22.
The Bulldogs' third-set performance provided a positive finish offensively. SC State registered 17 kills with only four attack errors on 41 attempts for a .317 hitting percentage while posting a 62% sideout rate. Wright and Harris each delivered four kills in the third set, while
Taelyn Graham added three kills on three attempts.
Harris led South Carolina State offensively with
nine kills, while Wright and Hawkins finished with
seven kills apiece. Pierre-Louis added five kills while hitting a team-best
.500, and Graham contributed four kills with a
.429 hitting percentage.
Setter
Macey McCoy directed the Bulldog offense with a team-high
21 assists, while
Arianna James added nine assists. Defensively, Wright and libero
Jordan Dalland collected
12 digs each, and James chipped in seven. South Carolina State finished the match with
38 kills, 35 assists, 44 digs and three service aces.
Despite the final result, SC State demonstrated its ability to compete point-for-point in the first and third sets and closed the match with its best attacking percentage of the afternoon.
Charleston Southern finished with 43 kills and a .381 team hitting percentage, while SC State hit .168 for the match. The Buccaneers also held an 8-2 advantage in total team blocks.
Up Next
South Carolina State will look to bounce back as it continues competition in Charleston in a 6:00 p.m. showdown with The Citadel on Friday (Sept. 4).
