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Palmer-20171104
Radford Athletics Communications
0
Charleston Southern CSUVOL~1 8-21, 3-12 Big South
3
Winner Radford RAD 22-3, 12-2 Big South
Charleston Southern CSUVOL~1
8-21, 3-12 Big South
0
Final
3
Radford RAD
22-3, 12-2 Big South
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Charleston Southern CSUVOL~1 19 9 18 (0)
Radford RAD 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

PALMER REACHES MILESTONE; LEADS RADFORD TO NINTH STRAIGHT VICTORY



RADFORD, Va. – Maddie Palmer only needed nine kills to become the career kills leader during the rally-scoring era at Radford, she ended the match with 12 and added 15 digs, leading the Highlanders to a three-set victory over Charleston Southern on Saturday afternoon inside the Dedmon Center.
 
The Highlanders (22-3, 12-2 Big South) have won nine straight matches, which is the highest winning streak this season. The win solidifies Radford with a No. 2 seed and a quarterfinal bye in the Big South Conference Tournament on Nov. 17.
 
Charleston Southern (8-21, 3-12 Big South) scored the first point of the match on a Hannah Western kill, but an attack error by the Bucs tied the match at one. That was the only and final time that the match was tied or CSU held a lead. Two Valerie Gonzalez service aces and a kill by Stephanie Neast gave Radford a 4-1 lead. The Highlanders went on a tear and claimed a 12-4 lead thanks to an 8-3 run. The lead increased to 14 – 23-9 – behind strong rally serves from Amaya Rousseau and Haley Kleespies. CSU's Madison Martin held serve strong and made a push with an 8-0 run that made it a 23-17 game. Each team traded two points but the Highlanders claimed the final two with a Kaylor Nash service ace and set-clinching Kleespies kill.
 
The second set saw Radford rout the Buccaneers, 25-9, hitting .355 as a team with 13 kills spread across five different players. Gonzalez, Mallory McKnight and Palmer each had three, while Rousseau and Neast had two apiece. During the set, CSU committed seven attack errors, two service errors and three receive errors.
 
There were no ties or lead changes in the final set as a Kaylsia Bates attack error gave the Highlanders a 1-0 lead. The Buccaneers hung around early on and cut the deficit to one, 4-3, before Radford gashed CSU with a 10-4 run. The run gave the home team a 14-7 lead. After a Charleston Southern point, Radford took a commanding 20-11 lead. The scrappy team in Charleston Southern outscored the Highlanders 7-5 over the final 12 points, but a Rachel Smith service error sealed the victory for Radford.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
•  As a team, the Highlanders recorded a .340 hitting percentage led by Valerie Gonzalez's .421. She was second on the team with 10 kills and tallied three service aces.
•  Maddie Palmer picked up 12 kills, which gives her 1,469 as a Highlander. She now sits atop the all-time kills leaderboard for the rally-scoring era at Radford.
•  The senior notched 15 digs, which led all players, and gave her a double-double. It's her third double-double over the last four matches.
•  Haley Kleespies racked up 36 assists, was tied for the team lead with three service aces and added three kills.
•  Stephanie Neast had three of the Highlanders' four total blocks as a team.
•  Radford had nine total service aces, which is tied for the most against a Big South team this year. The Highlanders had nine a few matches ago against Presbyterian.
•  Charleston Southern only picked up 25 kills on the night and hit .116 as a team.
•  The victory for the Highlanders locks up the No. 2 seed in the Big South Conference Tournament and puts them into the semifinals with a first-round bye.
 
QUOTABLE
"We were a little bit up and down tonight, mainly losing a little bit of focus. It was nice to be able to get this win. We want to be playing well going into the tournament and I think wev'e been doing that. It was big to get it done in three sets tonight so that we can rest up for Tuesday, which is an important match too." ~ Marci Jenkins

UP NEXT
The Highlanders remain at home for the final two matches, but will have a quick turnaround facing the third-best team in the Big South on Tuesday night in Campbell. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

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