JACKSON SETS CAREER DIGS MARK IN TIGHT FOUR-SET LOSS

Friday, October 14

Charleston, S.C.

7:00 PM

Radford University

16-4, 7-1

Charleston Southern

10-11, 5-0

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Radford	25	23	24	22	1
Charleston So.	22	25	26	25	3

Photo by: Red Rocket Productions & Photography

JACKSON SETS CAREER DIGS MARK IN TIGHT FOUR-SET LOSS

10/14/2016 10:34:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

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CHARLESTON, S.C. – Senior Kelby Jackson set a new program rally-scoring record for career digs, but Radford suffered its first Big South Conference loss of the season Friday night, falling on the road at Charleston Southern in four nip-and-tuck sets.

The Highlanders (16-4, 7-1) took the opener 25-22, but Charleston Southern (10-11, 5-0) pulled out the next three 25-23, 26-24 and 25-22 to snap Radford's seven-match winning streak.

Jackson recorded 23 digs in the match, giving her 1,509 for her career to pass Katelyn Meeks (1,506) and take over first place in program history.

The match between the last two unbeaten teams in Big South play featured 31 ties and 18 lead changes and was played within a three-point spread most of the way.

With the first set tied at 22-22, Radford scored the final three points on a kill by Haley Kleespies, an ace by Emma Wroblicky and a kill by Mallory McKnight.

Charleston Southern came out strong in the second set and built a 20-13 lead – the largest margin in the match – before the Highlanders mounted a steady rally, getting to within 24-23 on a Kleespies ace and Valerie Gonzalez kill. However, after a timeout, the Buccaneers got a kill by Connor Malone to even the match.

There were 11 ties and five lead changes in the pivotal third set. Radford used a 6-1 run, capped by kill from Maddie Palmer, to build a 21-16 advantage. CSU, though, answered with six straight points to regain the edge. It was still tied at 24-24 before the Buccaneers got the last two points on an attack error and a block.

Trying to extend the match, the Highlanders scored four straight points to lead the fourth set 21-17. Again, though, CSU got hot down the stretch, running off six straight to take a two-point lead. A kill by Sydney Tekstra made it 23-22, but consecutive Buccaneer kills closed out the match.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Radford suffered its first loss when winning the opening set, falling to 14-1 on the season.
Kelby Jackson followed up her season-high 25-dig output in the last match with 23 in this one, her fourth 20-plus total of the season and 11th straight match in double figures.
Teammates Haley Kleespies and Kaylor Nash also reached the 20-plus dig mark as the Highlanders finished with 103 in the match. Kleespies recorded a career-high 23, while Nash contributed a season-high 20, one shy of her career best.
Maddie Palmer chipped in 18 digs, along with a team-high 20 kills, to notch her 12th double-double of the season and 28th of her career.
Valerie Gonzalez added a season-high 13 kills, Mallory McKnight had 12 and Sydney Tekstra chipped 11.
Kleespies also dished out 55 assists, her fourth match of over 50 this season and third in the last five contests.
Radford totaled 66 kills compared to 56 for Charleston Southern. However, CSU outhit the Highlanders .228-.189.
The Buccaneers won the blocking battle 11-3, while recording 99 digs. Five players had double figures in digs, led by Madison Martin's 36.
CSU improved its hitting in each set, capped by a .306 performance in the fourth.

QUOTABLE

"CSU gets all the credit for this win. They put us in tough situations all night and we weren't able to convert. Hard to beat a good team when you have the amount of errors we had. Hopefully this loss makes us a better team. " ~ Radford head coach, Marci Jenkins

UP NEXT

Radford will continue its four-match road swing and begin the second half of the conference schedule next weekend, traveling to Gardner-Webb on Friday and Winthrop on Saturday.

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