CONWAY – Following a much-delayed homecoming the Coastal Carolina volleyball team did not disappoint in its first appearance in front of a home crowd this season, defeating Louisiana in four (25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18) sets Friday evening at the HTC Center.
 
The match also served as Coastal's (2-7, 1-0 SBC) Sun Belt opener, and the victory stretched the team's winning streak against conference opponents to 15 matches. Louisiana dropped to 9-8 overall, and 1-2 in conference matches.
 
Coastal was led by the duo of Kyla Manning and Anett Nemeth, as both outside hitters landed 17 kills. Manning posted a .262 hitting percentage for the match, and added 11 digs to complete the double-double. Nemeth led all players with 26 digs and a pair of service aces.
 
Also finishing with double-doubles were Ani Bozdeva (11 kills/13 digs) and Sara Boothe (50 assists/14 digs), contributing to Coastal's 59 team kills and .192 hitting percentage.
 
A total of five Chants finished with double-digit digs as Coastal totaled 91 as a team, the third-most in school history in a four-set match.
 
The Chants wasted little time in taking the opening lead of the match, winning five of six points to take an 18-12 advantage in the first set, and completing the frame by winning four straight points on the serve of Boothe. Nemeth, Bozdeva and Manning provided four kills each in the set.
 
The second set fell in Louisiana's favor as the Ragin' Cajuns hit .243 and took advantage of Desiree Johnson's five-kill effort. Coastal mounted a late comeback effort in the set, using a 4-1 run to cut Louisiana's advantage to two points, but a Johnson kill and Coastal attacking error led to a tied match after two.
 
Nemeth took control of the third set for Coastal, landing seven kills and two aces in a nine-point effort. The Chants used an 11-1 run early in the set to take a commanding lead, and the defense held strong near the end of the set to hold off a surging Louisiana team.
 
The fourth and final set saw Coastal hit .256, its highest percentage of the match. Nemeth was once again the frame's leader with five kills, while Manning and Bozdeva provided four apiece. Bozdeva also notched seven digs in a spectacular defensive effort that contributed to Louisiana hitting a mere .071 to finish the match.
 
Coastal is back in action at the HTC Center on Sunday hosting ULM at 12:30 p.m.