BOONE, N.C. - The Coastal Carolina volleyball team improved to a perfect 8-0 in Sun Belt Conference play and 18-2 overall with a sweep on the road of Appalachian State on Friday night at the Holmes Convocation Center. Anett Nemeth led the Chanticleers on the night with 18 kills while Kyla Manning had 12 kills and seven service aces.
The Chanticleers jumped out to an early 7-2 lead over the Mountaineers in set one as they scored seven unanswered points that propelled them to a 25-17 win. Manning was responsible for five of the first seven points as she continued to add to her team's success at the service line in 2019. During the rally, CCU's outside hitter had four service aces along with one kill. In total, she led Coastal in the first set with five aces and three putaways.
In set two, the Mountaineers took a brief 10-9 lead before Coastal recaptured the momentum they had in set one. CCU won the next 12-of-18 points as Manning was responsible for the Chanticleers' first five points with three kills and two solo blocks. Ani Bozdeva ended the rally with three kills of her seven on the night.
Later in the set, with the Chants up by the score of 21-16, the Mountaineers closed the deficit as they won 5-of-6 points (22-21) from two kills apiece by Victoria Wilform and Kara Spicer.
CCU was able to hold on for the 25-23 set two win behind Manning's two kills over the final three Chanticleer points. The Atlanta, Ga., native finished the set with five kills and two blocks.
Manning, Bozdeva, and Nemeth gave the Chanticleers a 4-2 lead at the beginning of set three as the trio had two, one, and one kill respectively, but Appalachian State would not lay down to Coastal Carolina.
The Mountaineers won the next 9-of-11 points in set three as Wilform had three kills and a service ace. Sydney Farthing and Emma Reilly added services aces to help App State to a five-point lead (11-6), their biggest of the night.
CCU chipped away at the five-point deficit by reeling off four consecutive points on back-to-back block assists from Christina Nance and freshman Brigitta Petrenko. Manning also added her third solo block of the night in the run to help the Chants regain the momentum and tie the score at 11 points all.
The lead would change three times over the final 26 points, but the Chanticleer team would persevere to earn the 25-23 win.
Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week, Nemeth would have six kills over the Chants' final 14 points. Manning would cap off the set three win her seventh and final ace.
For the Chanticleers, Petrenko had a match-high 39 assists and freshman libero Lina Perugini had a match-high 15 digs.
The Mountaineers trio of Wilform, Emma Longley, and Kara Spicer had 11 kills apiece. Setter Sam Bickley had a team-high 34 assists.
CCU returns to the court on Friday, Oct. 25 as they host the Texas State Bobcats at The HTC Center. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.
For complete coverage of CCU volleyball, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalVball (twitter), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (facebook) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.
