Coastal vs. Loyola (Md.) Final Stats | Coastal vs. Kennesaw Final Stats

CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina women's volleyball team picked up two wins on the first day of competition at the Coastal Carolina Invitational, winning their 2014 home opener against Loyola (Md.) in three sets (28-26, 25-10, 25-13) before dispatching the Kennesaw State Owls in four sets (25-15, 25-15, 24-26, 25-16) in Friday evening's match.

The Chanticleers' pair of wins improves their overall record to 6-2 and extends their win streak to five matches. The Tennessee Lady Volunteers (5-4 overall) matched Coastal's tournament record on Friday, winning matches against Loyola and Kennesaw, while the Greyhounds (1-8 overall) and Owls (4-5 overall) fell in both their matches.

The Chants started the day off with a bang, downing Loyola in a convincing, three-set performance. The Greyhounds kept the score close in the first, but two kills by Miona Milovanovich closed out the set and gave Coastal a 1-0 lead. The Chants never looked back as they won the second and third sets by commanding 25-10 and 25-13 margins, respectively.

Freshman Leah Hardeman paced the Chants' attack with 10 kills and three aces. Lian Bernett, Eszter Nagy and Milovanovich each contributed seven kills as well. Sam Skryd led the match in assists with 27, while also putting down two kills of her own.

On the defensive side, Jenn Orner recorded 14 digs, while Nagy posted four blocks. Katie Martin and Lian Bernett also made their presence known at the net, contributed three blocks apiece.

The Chants outhit the Greyhounds .325 to .076, and won the battle at the net, putting down eight blocks to Loyola's four.

Coastal got off to hot start against Kennesaw in the day's final match, winning the first two sets by identical 25-15 scores. The Chants recorded the first six points of the second set, and never let the Owls within five as Coastal turned in one of its most dominant performances of the season.

Kennesaw rebounded in the third set, staying point-for-point with Coastal and eventually earning a 24-21 lead late in the set. The Chants rallied the tie the set at 24-24, but the Owls managed to pull away and bring the match within one.

Coastal returned to form in the fourth set however, and cruised to a 25-16 set win to close out the match.

Hardeman (14 kills, 10 digs), Skryd (47 assists, 14 digs) and Bernett (13 kills, 16 digs) were Coastal's top performers in the match as all three recorded double-doubles. Nagy meanwhile tied for the match-lead in kills with 14, and led all players with a .737 hitting percentage after putting down 14 of her 19 attempts.

Skryd and Martin were clutch at the net for Coastal, tallying four blocks apiece. Led by Orner's 28, Coastal had four players record double-digit digs.

Coastal outhit Kennesaw by a large .267 to .086 margin.

Next up for the Chants are the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in the final match of the Coastal Carolina Invitational. Saturday's matches begin at 11 am with Kennesaw and Loyola, followed by Coastal and Tennessee at approximately 1 pm.