WICHITA, Kan. - The Coastal Carolina University volleyball team defeated Lamar 3-2 in an exciting five-set contest before falling to #22 Wichita State (6-0) 3-0 on day two of the Best Western Shocker Volleyball Classic in Wichita, Kan., at the Charles Koch Arena.

The Chanticleers second 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-23, 15-11) victory of the season was guided by sophomore Megan Bickford (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South) who tallied 14 kills on 17 attacks, hitting a season-high .645 against the Lady Cardinals. Sophomore Chelsy Kimes (Munster, Ind./Munster) added 14 kills of her own and junior Jill Nyhof (Alpharetta, Ga./Northview) had nine kills and was a part of nine of Coastal Carolina's 14 blocks in the match.

Coastal Carolina (3-3) started out the match with great intensity jumping out to an 8-2 lead, powered by five kills. The Lady Cardinals chipped away at the Chanticleer lead to tie the game at 14-14. After trading points resulting in a 22-22 tie, two attacking errors by Coastal Carolina gave Lamar the set 25-22.

The second set played out in a similar way, as the teams swapped points for much of the frame. Coastal Carolina built a 24-19 lead, but surrendered the next four points before a kill by Kimes earned the Chants a 25-23 win.

Lamar was steady in the third set playing to an 11-9 advantage, but a kill by Nyhof put the Chants within one at 11-10. This was the closest Coastal Carolina would get as Lamar put together a five-point run walking away with the third set 25-17.

After trading points for most of the fourth set, the Chanticleers found themselves down 20-17. A Lady Cardinal service error and Bickford’s strong block shut down Lamar as Coastal Carolina pulled even at 20-20. Kimes powered through the Lady Cardinal defense once again to give the Chants a 21-20 advantage. Tied at 23-23, sophomore Amanda Russell’s (Liberty, Ind./Union County) kill and another attacking error from the Lady Cardinals helped the Chants win 25-23, pushing the match to a tiebreaker.

The Chanticleers climbed to an 8-4 lead and control of the match. Senior Kristin Wolf’s (Andover, Kan./Andover Central) kill gave the Chants a 14-9 advantage as a Lamar service error preserved the 15-11 win for the Chanticleers.  

In the night match, Wichita State had double-digit kills in each set producing a 3-0 (19-25, 18-25, 16-25) victory to remain undefeated in 2008. Coastal Carolina got on the scoreboard first with a kill from Kimes playing to a 4-4 tie. Wichita State earned eight of the next 10 points to take the lead 12-6. Four kills from Russell kept the Chanticleers close, but the Shockers solid attack nabbed the first set 25-19.

The Chanticleers competed in the second frame, finding themselves behind 13-10 after a block by Bickford and Megan Tracey (Scottsdale, Ariz./Horizon).  The Shockers developed a 20-14 advantage, which proved to be too much as the Chanticleers fell 25-18 in the second set.

Another Bickford-Tracey block gave Coastal Carolina a 3-2 advantage in the third set. A five-point swing put Wichita State in the driver’s seat as they continued to earn their national ranking, defeating the Chanticleers 25-15 in the final frame. 

Coastal Carolina will close out the Wichita State Best Western Shocker Classic with two games Sept. 5. The Chanticleers will face Idaho State at 12 p.m., followed by a 4 p.m. meeting with Cal State Bakersfield.