Final Stats

CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina volleyball team won its Sun Belt Conference debut in convincing fashion Friday evening, downing Little Rock in three sets (25-16, 25-19, 26-16) at the HTC Center. It is the third conference-opening win for the Chanticleers in head coach Jozsef Forman's five-year tenure at CCU.

Coastal improves to 10-3, 1-0 with Friday's sweep, while Little Rock falls to 4-10 overall and starts its conference schedule 0-1.

Leah Hardeman turned her best performance of 2016 so far, putting down a season-high 18 kills while hitting .593. The junior outside hitter completed the double-double with 10 kills and added a pair of service aces. Her seven kills in both the first and third frames powered the Chants to nine-point set wins.

Senior middle blocker Annayka Legros also reached double-digit kills with 10, accompanied by a .471 hitting percentage. She also led the Chants in blocks with three total, including two solos and an assist.

Little Rock trailed Coastal in every statistical category except blocks, as the conference leaders in the category outdueled the Chants 9-5 at the net. The Trojans were paced by the five blocks of Carolee Dillard and four blocks of Veronica Marin.

Coastal opened the game hitting .205, and Legros and Tahleia Bishop each contributed three kills to complement Hardeman's seven. The Chants took the lead for good after a Kinga Windisch block put them ahead 6-5, and Coastal stretched the lead to as many as nine points later in the set.

The Chants hit a match-high .400 in the middle frame, and never surrendered the lead though Little Rock managed to tie the set seven times. Coastal held a slim 15-14 advantage before a Hardeman service ace sparked a 3-1 run, forcing Little Rock into a timeout. A pair of Legros kills and consecutive aces from Carla Cahill helped Coastal close the set.

Coastal led the final set from start to finish as Sara Boothe -- who led Coastal with 19 assists -- served the Chants to the first nine points. The sophomore setter had a pair of aces and assists on Coastal's three kills during that stretch. The Chants led by as many as 10 points during the closing stretch.

The Chants return to action on Sunday to host Arkansas State, the defending Sun Belt champions. The Red Wolves are currently first place in the conference's West Division. First serve from the HTC Center is set for 1 p.m.