#6 Radford Eliminates #3 Charleston Southern, 3-0, for Semifinal Berth
By Radford Athletics
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Radford volleyball program was dominant on all facets Friday night in a 3-0 sweep over the third seed Charleston Southern to advance to the semifinals of the Big South Tournament.
BOX SCORE
KEY STATS
* Olivia Ryno and Sierra Moore each scored a match-high 11 kills.
* Gabriela Smolenska provided some big offensive hits late for the Highlanders, just missing her career high in kills with 8.
* Miranda Howard's defense was crucial throughout, as she thwarted multiple Buccaneers runs and finished with 23 digs (7.3 digs per set).
* Radford's serving was one of the difference makers as the Highlanders served 10 aces compared to the Buccaneers' two.
* Radford has now earned postseason wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2017 and 2018. Head Coach Savanna Hammond is now a clean 2-0 in quarterfinals meetings.
PLAY BY PLAY
The Highlanders, who came into the postseason meeting having split with Charleston Southern during the regular season, showed a new energy to immediately establish an early lead. Kills from Alana Kolb and Moore set the tone while a block from Aubrey Hatch and Taryn Roberts made it 8-8 early in set one.
Radford's first ace of the night came from Sara Johnson in the middle of a 4-2 run that put Radford up 12-10. A 6-1 run by the Buccaneers threatened to flip the set's fate, but a kill and a solo block from Smolenska had Radford right back in the running. Down 18-20, the Highlanders rattled off six unanswered thanks to kills from Ryno, Hatch and Moore with two aces from Johnson. Radford didn't look back and worked through a Buccaneers timeout to finish the set on a 7-1 run, winning 25-21 for the early 1-0 lead.
The Highlanders had found their groove from there and kept working in set two. Ryno, Moore and Roberts turned in kills to start hot with an 8-6 lead. Another pair of aces from Gage and Howard helped Radford pace ahead at 15-12.
Through the media break, Radford got four straight points from kills by Ryno to break open the set. Up 20-16, Radford finished the set on a 5-0 run as Smolenska tallied another kill and block to seal set two 25-16 in the Highlanders' favor.
Up 2-0 and looking to close things out, Radford kept rolling in set three. The Highlanders opened the set with a 6-2 lead behind more aces from Howard and Moore. Hatch would supply another kill and block to help Radford balloon their lead further to 12-5. Charleston Southern didn't go away quietly, scoring five straight to quickly tighten the set.
Radford had a 5-0 run of their own to respond thanks to three errors from Charleston Southern. Now ahead 19-12, the Highlanders were able to close things out as they had all match. Jackeline Nerro served up back-to-back aces and Ryno put a bow on the win with a kill that sealed the deal at 25-18 and the match 3-0.
UP NEXT
The Highlanders keep their postseason hopes alive and have advanced to the tournament semifinals taking place tomorrow, November 22nd. With an expected 6 p.m. first serve, Radford faces the weekend hosts and second-seeded High Point.