BOONE, N.C. – Coastal Carolina volleyball set a program record with its 10th-straight victory to open the season without a defeat in a 3-0 victory over Appalachian State.  The 10-0 start to the season tops the 9-0 start by the 2019 squad.

Coastal, which posted a .345 hitting percentage for the match, swept the three-set match 25-19, 25-8, and 30-28.  Each of the Chanticleers' victories have come against Sun Belt Conference members.  Appalachian State falls to 1-5 overall and in the conference.

Appalachian State opened the first set with a 7-2 run to take its largest lead of the set on a kill by Lexi Kohut.  The Chanticleers responded with a 3-0 run that was led by kills from Anett Nemeth and Brigitta Petrenko to close the gap to 7-5.  Coastal would continue to stay close before scoring four unanswered points to take an 11-9 lead, its first of the set.  With the set tied at 18-18, the Chants scored seven of the set's final eight points to take the 25-19 victory.  Ani Bozdeva connected for three kills in the final run to lead Coastal.

In the second set, Coastal Carolina held a 6-5 when the Chants scored nine unanswered points to open a 15-5 advantage.  Coastal never looked back and cruised to the 25-8 victory in the second set as the Chants commanded the nets with a .625 hitting percentage on 10 kills with no errors in 16 total attacks.

The final set opened with both teams battling back-and-forth on the scoreboard and neither team building more than a two-point advantage before a late run by the Chanticleers.  Following a kill by McCall Denny that gave the Mountaineers a 17-16 lead, Coastal scored five unanswered to open a 21-17 advantage on a service ace by Ilse Sinnige. It was Appalachian State's turn at a run as the Mountaineers ran off six-straight points to take a 23-21 lead on another kill by Denny.

Denny posted another kill to give Appalachian State a 24-22 advantage and a match point with the serve.  The Chanticleers fought off a pair of match points for the Mountaineers and Nemeth hammered a pair of kills in a 3-0 Coastal run to take a 25-24 lead.  The teams again exchanged points on the scoreboard before the Chants finally put the match away 30-28 on their fifth match point.

Nemeth, the 2019 Sun Belt Player of the Year, led Coastal Carolina with 12 kills and a .429 hitting percentage.  Bozdeva added 11 kills and a.375 hitting percentage to the Chants attack.  Setter Brigitta placed 27 set assists while libero Lina Perugini paced Coastal with 16 digs.

Appalachian State was led offensively by Denny's nine kills while Grace Morrison and Anna Kincaid added six kills each.  Sam Bickley and Sophie Cain split time at the setter position and recorded 14 assists each.  Libero Emma Reilly's 12 digs led the Mountaineers defensively.

Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State will play the final match of this two-match series on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 1 p.m. ET.  The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live stats available on Appalachian State's athletic web site at www.AppStateSports.com.  Fans can also follow along on Twitter, @CoastalVBall, for in-match updates.
 
 
For complete coverage of CCU volleyball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalVball (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.