Final Stats vs. Michigan | Final Stats vs. American

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Coastal Carolina volleyball team played its third and final match of the Panther Invitational Saturday afternoon, turning in 25-17, 25-23, 25-23 sweep of American to finish 2-1 for the tournament.

The Chanticleers, who improved to 7-2 on the season after splitting Saturday's pair of matches, landed two players on all-tournament team in Leah Hardeman and Sara Boothe. The victory marked Coastal's sixth three-set sweep of the season.

Hardeman turned in her best performance of the weekend, putting down 15 kills at a .600 clip while finishing second on the team with eight digs. Annayka Legros followed with 14 kills while hitting .524 and tied Tahleia Bishop for the team lead in blocks with three. Boothe provided 25 assists while Carla Cahill tallied 16 digs.

Legros delivered half of her total kills in the first set alone, and the Chants hit .400 as a team en route to an eight-point set victory. Coastal surrendered the game's first two points, but overtook the lead for good at 4-3 on a block from Dora Lulic and Kinga Windisch. The Chants continued to add to their lead throughout the set, going ahead by as many as eight points before taking a 1-0 match advantage.

The Chants' hitting dipped slightly to .317 in the middle frame, but eight kills and four digs from Hardeman powered the Chants to a 2-0 match lead. The set was tied late at 21 point apiece before an American service error and Legros kill gave the Chants a two-point cushion. Hardeman then put down back-to-back kills to close out the game.

The final set was a close affair and featured 11 ties. Coastal did not take the lead until late in the set when Hardeman put down a kill to give the Chants a 24-23 lead and match point. The contest ended on an American attack error by Vela McBride. The Chants held a slim .279 - .233 hitting advantage in the set, and were led by the four kill each from Bishop and Natasa Savovic.

Coastal's next match will be its first at home for the 2016 season. CCU hosts the Chanticleer Classic featuring Georgia Tech and North Florida, Sept. 16-17 at the HTC Center. The Chants play their home opener on Friday at 7 p.m.

Coastal Carolina vs. #22 Michigan (10 a.m. Saturday)
The Coastal Carolina volleyball team suffered its first loss of the Panther Invitational Saturday morning, falling in straight sets (25-16, 25-22, 25-23) to #22 Michigan.

The loss is just the second of the season for the Chanticleers (6-2), with both defeats coming at the hands of nationally ranked opponents. Michigan remains unbeaten this season, improving to 8-0.

The Wolverines were paced by the 13 and 10 kills of Carly Skjodt and Kelly Murphy, respectively. Skjodt added a trio of blocks while Murphy led her team with a .400 hitting percentage.

As a team Michigan held advantages in nearly statistical category , including 12 team blocks to the Chants' six.

Coastal's Leah Hardeman tallied 10 kills for the second straight match, while Carla Cahill paced the Chants with 14 digs and Sara Boothe provided a team-leading 18 assists.

Michigan led in hitting percentage while recording at least 11 digs and three blocks in all three sets.

Coastal held two leads in the opening set, the last coming at 10-8 before Michigan claimed 10 of the next 12 points to go ahead by six.

Michigan's momentum carried into the second set as the Wolverines jumped out to a quick 11-5 lead, forcing Coastal to call both timeouts in the process. Murphy and Skjodt put down four kills apiece in the set as Michigan maintained at least a five-point cushion for the remainder of the frame.

The Chants nearly took the match to a fourth set, holding a 22-21 lead late in the third. Coastal was unable to hold its lead, however, as a Skjodt kill and two Michigan blocks gave the Wolverines set point, and one final kill from Murphy finished the match. The final set included 17 ties and 10 lead changes.