CONWAY – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team extended its winning streak against Sun Belt opponents to 17 straight matches Friday evening as the Chanticleers ground out a four-set win over Arkansas State at the HTC Center.
 
The 24-26, 25-22, 25-20, 25-21 match included a total of 22 ties and seven lead changes as Coastal (4-7, 3-0 SBC) played well to fend off a surging Arkansas State (10-8, 2-3 SBC) team. After the first set went to extras, the largest margin of victory in the following three sets was only five points.
 
Coastal was once again led by outside hitters Anett Nemeth (12 kills, .270 percentage) and Kyla Manning (10 kills, .119 percentage).
 
Coastal hit .187 as a team while landing 45 kills, and its 150 attacks were the third most this season.
 
Defensively, the Chants totaled 69 digs and six blocks while holding A-State to a .145 hitting percentage. Sydney Alvis led the way with 26 digs, followed by Nemeth's 11 to give the freshman her third straight double-double and fifth overall this season.
 
Nemeth also had a trio of blocks, as did sophomore Kaylah House.
 
Coastal was on the verge of winning the first set while holding a 24-21 advantage, but the Red Wolves responded with five straight points as part of a 9-2 run to finish out the set and take the match's first lead.
 
Arkansas State nearly repeated the feat in the second set, fending off six straight set-points before Coastal was able to put the Red Wolves away. The Chants had previously gained a 24-16 advantage after winning seven of eight points. A-State's comeback was halted by Dora Lulic, who landed her lone kill of the set to even the match at 1-1.
 
The third set was a back-and-forth affair that was tied late at 20-20. An Arkansas State serving error gave the Chants a one-point advantage and proved to be the turning point. Nemeth then landed an ace, and Ani Bozdeva finished the set with a kill following two A-State hitting errors.
 
Coastal's hitting percentage of .237 in the final set was its highest of the match. The Chants saw the score evened just once in the set, and they never faced a deficit. Lulic and Manning each had three kills, while House, Bozdeva and Nemeth had a pair each. The defense came up with 17 digs and a pair of blocks to hold A-State's hitting percentage to .103, its lowest of the match.
 
Friday's match marked the third straight loss for A-State after the Red Wolves had opened conference play with a pair of wins.
 
The Chanticleers continue with inter-divisional play on Sunday when they host Little Rock for a 12:30 p.m. match at the HTC Center.