CHARLESTON, S.C. – Intercity foe Charleston Southern got the best of The Citadel on Saturday evening as the Buccaneers earned a 25-15, 25-21, 19-25, 25-17 victory over the Bulldogs to complete The Citadel Invitational. The outright tournament title went to Stetson who completed a three-match sweep of the two-day event.
 
Charleston Southern (3-3) completed the four-set win behind the play of offensive standouts Siraya Windsor (22 kills), Meredith Parrott (14) and Kylie Klein (six). Collectively CSU ended the match with 57 kills and a .295 attack percentage. Those three, combined with performances by Kirsten Struksnes (18 digs) and Taylor Allman (16 digs) helped improve the Bucs to .500 on the season.
 
Meanwhile, The Citadel (2-4) was led by Moriah Smith who tallied a team-high 17 kills to go along with six digs. Smith was the Bulldogs as the lone representative on the all-tournament team. Teammate Mallory Moore finished with nine kills, while Lauren Hurt chipped in six. The steady play of Amanda Rudnik provided the Dogs with 18 digs, while Rachel Keefer added 40 assists.


The Bucs grabbed the lead early in the first set an established a 14-7 lead following a service ace by Struksnes. CSU eventually stretched the lead to 10 after a Parrott strike against the Dogs' defense, allowing The Citadel to only pull as close as seven throughout the remainder as they completed a 25-15 win.
 
The Bulldogs rallied in the second set forcing 11 ties through the first 32 points as the set reached a 16-16 deadlock. A unforced error by CSU coupled with an ace by Moore gave the Cadets a two point advantage. However, Charleston Southern answered by scoring eight of the next 11 points, due in large part to six points in serve by Parrott to take a 2-0 lead on a 25-21 victory.
 
In the third set The Citadel overcame a series of early ties to move in front 16-14 on a CSU attack error. Rudnik provided a four-point cushion for The Citadel as they assumed a 20-16 lead. A series of kills down the stretch by Moriah Smith, Hurt and Gracie Barnes gave the Dogs a 25-19 win.
 
Charleston Southern's offense returned to form in the third set as the Bucs streaked out to an 8-4 lead on a kill by Klein. The Dogs quickly trimmed that deficit to one, before a 10-2 run highlighted by kills from Parrott and Windsor stretched the margin to 19-11. Two kills by Moriah Smith and one off the hand of Lauren Hurt was not enough to hold off the Bucs who won 25-17 in the decisive set.

The Stetson front row tandem of McKenna Foster and Shelby Connors drove home 14 kills apiece as the Hatters downed The Citadel in four sets by scores of 25-18, 25-23, 22-25 and 25-15.
 
Stetson, who improved to 6-1 overall, also took advantage of solid offensive performances by Madison Akins (nine kills), Tiffany Creamer (six) and Erika White (six). Alexa Drost made the biggest impact on the Hatters defense with 18 kills, while Kayla Weller handed out 45 assists.
 
The Citadel offense was highlighted by the performances of Dominique Williams and Moriah Smith who drove home 11 kills each. Moriah Smith completed her second double-double in the last four matches with 13 digs, while senior Amanda Rudnik anchored the back row with 17 digs. Rachel Keefer sparked the Dogs' offense with 37 assists.
 
In the first set the two teams reached a 15-15 deadlock following a kill by Williams before Stetson rattled off seven unanswered points with Akins in serve. The Hatters took advantage of five unforced errors to move in front 22-15. Stetson closed out the 25-18 win on a series of kills by Foster and Connors.
 
The Citadel rallied from a series of three-point deficits to knot the second set at 10-10 on a kill by Ise d'Angelo. Stetson again pieced together a run, this time highlighted by four kills by Tiffany Creamer, to assume a 19-14 advantage. A late surge by the Bulldogs that included offensive strikes by Moriah Smith, Bailey Kernodle and Keefer eventually tied the score at 22-22. Stetson forged back in front on an unforced error before earning the 25-23 victory.
 
The evenly-matched teams continue to force a series of ties in the third set, battling to a 19-19 deadlock on a kill by Kernodle. The Citadel used a kill by d'Angelo to take the lead and following a strike by Moriah Smith the Bulldogs provided themselves a cushion they would not relinquish. The Citadel took advantage of two Stetson errors and a Moriah Smith kill to complete the 25-22 win.
 
Stetson established itself early in the fourth set, streaking out to a 10-5 lead behind the service game of Akins. The lead eventually ballooned to seven, 15-8, but a brief Citadel rally behind kills by Gracie Barnes and d'Angelo trimmed the deficit to 17-14. The Hatters, sensing another Bulldog comeback, again turned to Akins who accounted for five points down the stretch of the 25-15 triumph.
 
The Citadel returns to action on Sept. 11 when they face S.E. Missouri State at the Alabama State ISTAP Collegiate Cup. The first-ever meeting with the Redhawks is set for 6 p.m.
 
 
The Citadel Invitational All-Tournament Team
Moriah Smith, The Citadel
Te'Borah Hawkins-Hollingsworth, N.C. A&T
Shelby Connors, Stetson
Alexa Drost, Stetson
Madison Akins, Stetson
Siraya Windsor, Charleston Southern