CHARLESTON, S.C. – Savannah Freeman records a career high in kills, but not enough as the Bulldogs fall in four sets (22-25, 25-23, 20-25, 23-25) to Charleston Southern inside the Buccaneer Fieldhouse.
 
The Citadel (0-3) recorded 46 kills compared to Charleston Southern's 59 kills. The Buccaneers out-hit the Bulldogs .215 to .14.
 
Savannah Freeman posted a career-high 15 kills, Sammie Sabra added nine kills, and Alexa Psotka contributed eight. Greta Pleuss recorded a season-high 23 assists and one service ace.
 
Luci Lippelgoos had another strong defensive day with six total blocks, bringing her season total to 14.0.
 
Emily Struckmeyer led the Buccaneers with 13 kills.
 
Set 1: Both teams exchanged points early in the first set, tying at 8-8, but the Bulldogs went on a 3-0 run with a kill and a service ace from Lippelgoos, followed by an error from the Buccaneers, making it 11-8. Freeman gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead on a kill to make it 19-18, but the Buccaneers responded with a 4-0 run to take the lead at 22-19. A kill from Sabra made it a two-point game at 24-22, but a service error by the Bulldogs allowed Charleston Southern to win the first set.
 
Set 2: Three kills from The Citadel and an attack error by the Buccaneers gave the Bulldogs an early 4-1 lead. On her fourth kill of the set, Freeman extended the Bulldogs' lead to 9-7. The Buccaneers took a 14-13 lead, but blocks from Sam Barnes and Psotka tied the set at 14-14. The Bulldogs' lead grew to 21-19 with a solo block from Lippelgoos, but a service error and a kill by the Buccaneers made it 21-21. A kill from Sabra secured the set for the Bulldogs at 25-23.
 
Set 3: A 5-0 scoring run sparked by a Freeman kill gave the Bulldogs a 7-5 lead early in set 3. Charleston Southern responded with their own 5-0 run to regain the lead at 13-8, followed by another 5-0 run from The Citadel that tied the set at 14-14. A kill from Psotka tied the set at 20-20, but the Buccaneers finished the set on a 5-0 run to win set three.
 
Set 4: The Bulldogs took an early 6-2 lead on a kill by Freeman. A 3-0 run by The Citadel boosted the lead to 15-9, followed by another 3-0 run to extend the Bulldogs' advantage to 18-10. The momentum shifted in favor of the Buccaneers as a 10-1 run erased The Citadel's lead, bringing it to 21-20. Two late kills from Jordyn Sims brought the Bulldogs back into the set, but it wasn't enough, as a service error by The Citadel allowed the Buccaneers to win the set and the match.

"Today, the group showed significant growth. Yesterday, we encountered several errors that we consider minor. Today, they really pushed their comfort level and had a great attacking mentality. You're always going to have errors; we want to make sure they are the right ones," said Zelenock. "While we don't believe in moral victories, this wasn't a bad loss. We played well, CSU played well, and a few choices were different, and this is a different match."

Up Next
The Citadel travels to Statesboro, Georgia, to take on Georgia Southern on Sept. 2 at 6 pm.