CHARLESTON, S.C . - The Radford volleyball team was edged by the Charleston Southern Buccaneers in a five-set Big South Conference nail-biter on Friday evening at the Buccaneer Field House. The Highlanders, who fell to 5-2 in the league, dropped their first road match of the campaign after winning their first six tilts.
 
Highlander junior Stephanie Neast paced the team with 16 kills while freshman Kylie Tuxford (team-leading four blocks) and junior Mallory McKnight contributed 13 kills apiece. Senior Haley Kleespies distributed a match-high 54 assists (tied season-high) while freshman Grace Green added a match and career-high 27 digs.  Senior Valerie Gonzalez came up with 22 digs and also added a match-high four service aces.
 
FIRST SET
Radford (13-3) raced out to a 5-1 lead as Kleespies set-up her teammates for five quick kills, including three by McKnight.  The hosts closed to within 6-4, however, the Highlanders went on a 5-1 spurt to extend their lead to 11-5 after Kleespies and senior Amaya Rousseau combined for a block.  The Bucs answered with seven consecutive points to take their first lead of the frame at 12-11 and extended their advantage to 18-13 after a Highlander attack error.  Radford managed to claw their way back and eventually evened the score at 20-all after Neast and Gonzalez both came up with a pair of kills during a 7-2 run. However, Charleston Southern scored the next three points and eventually took the set by a 25-21 count.
 
SECOND SET
The Highlanders cruised to a 25-17 victory as they managed to build a 14-4 lead to open the set.  Tuxford recorded back-to-back winners to cap the opening run. Radford led by as many as 11 points on two different occasions, the latest coming at 18-7 after a Neast kill. The hosts managed to get to within 20-13 but the Highlanders put them away to even the match on another Tuxford kill off a feed from Kleespies. The visitors recorded a match-high .250 hitting mark in the set. McKnight and Neast both recorded four kills and Kleespies compiled 13 assists.
 
THIRD SET
Charleston Southern (9-6, 4-3 Big South) controlled most of the set and went on to a 25-17 victory.  After falling behind by a 9-4 margin, the Highlanders trimmed the deficit to 11-10 after a kill by Tuxford. The Bucs, however, went on a 9-1 run to take a commanding 20-11 advantage. Radford managed to close within 21-15 after a kill by Neast but could not inch any closer.  Tuxford contributed four kills in the set to pace the Highlanders.
 
FOURTH SET
Radford climbed right back into the match with a 25-20 victory to even things up. Freshman Lilijana Henderson (career-high 8 kills) came off the bench to spark the Highlanders as the middle blocker recorded a set-high six kills while hitting .417. The Highlanders took a 10-4 advantage as Henderson and Tuxford teamed for consecutive blocks to cap the stretch. Henderson also added three kills that were all set up by Kleespies. The Bucs managed to fight all the way back and knotted the set for the final time at 18-all.  Henderson, however, came up with another big kill to ignite a 3-0 run that gave Radford the lead for good. McKnight eventually put the set away with a kill off another assist by Kleespies.
 
FIFTH SET
The deciding set went down to the wire as the hosts were able to score the final two points to pick up the victory. With the set even at 4-all, the Highlanders scored four of the next five points to grab an 8-5 advantage.  The Bucs committed three attack errors and McKnight sprinkled in a kill during the stretch.  Radford still led 10-7 after another kill by Henderson but the hosts responded with their own 4-1 spurt to knot the score at 11 after a block. The Highlanders took their final lead at 13-12 after another kill by McKnight. The Highlanders then committed a hitting error and were the victim of a service ace that made it 14-13 in favor of the Bucs.  Radford got even for the final time after an attack error but Charleston Southern recorded the final two points on a kill and a Radford error.
 
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Radford led 10-7 in the fifth and deciding set but were unable to close out the Bucs, who went on a 4-1 run to even the score at 11.
 
STAT OF THE MATCH
The Highlanders held the Bucs to a .087 hitting mark in the final set but could not record the win.
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders will remain in South Carolina to take on Big South foe Presbyterian on Saturday afternoon in Clinton. First serve is set for 4:00 PM from the Templeton Center
 
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