ATLANTA, Ga. – The Coastal Carolina team volleyball opened the 2020 season on the road with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 31-29) sweep of Georgia State in the first of two matches on Friday.  The second match of the three-match series will be played at 6:00 p.m. tonight.

In the opening set, Coastal built a 14-6 advantage before Georgia State responded with five consecutive points to close the gap to 14-11 on kill by Clara Bednarek.  Following a timeout by the Chanticleers, Coastal responded with a 6-1 run and went on to take the set at 25-16.  Anett Nemeth, the reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, opened the season with seven kills in the opening set while Brigitta Petrenko had 13 assists.

In the second set, the Chanticleers continued their hot play as Petrenko served a pair of aces to open a 3-0 lead for Coastal.  Ani Bozdeva posted a kill to give the Chants an 11-4 advantage before Georgia State called a timeout.  Coastal continued to dominate the set following the Panthers' timeout and went on to the 25-12 victory.  After posting a .156 hitting percentage in the opening set, Coastal had just two errors and 10 kills on 22 attacks for a .364 hitting percentage in the second set.

The final set saw the teams open by exchanging points on the scoreboard as the set was tied 8-8 before Coastal opened a 12-9 advantage.  Bozdeva posted a kill and a service ace while Lina Perugini served an ace of her own to open the slight cushion.  Following a kill by Georgia State's Cierra Sillmon, Coastal opened a 15-10 advantage on assisted blocks by Hannah Emerson and Blaire Fleming.

Georgia State battled back to tie the set at 17-17 on consecutive service aces by Ally Thees.  After trading points, the Chanticleers forced a Georgia State timeout after opening a 20-18 lead on a kill by Nemeth and attack error by Erin Wyatt.  The Panthers came out of the timeout with a 5-1 run to open a 23-21 advantage before Nemeth and Fleming responded with kills to tie the set at 23-23.

With the teams continuing to battle on the scoreboard, Coastal Carolina would need four match points before Nemeth sealed the victory with the final kill of the match for the 31-29 victory.

Nemeth led the Chanticleers with 13 kills while Bozdeva added nine kills and a .400 hitting percentage.  Petrenko recorded 27 assists and Perugini had a match-high 15 digs.

Wyatt and Dzemila Hadzik led the offensive attack for Georgia State with seven kills each.  Jordan Shoemaker had 17 assists.  The Panthers had 22 attack errors and a hitting percentage of just .050 for the match.

Live stats for game two will be available on Georgia State's athletic web site at GeorgiaStateSports.com.  In addition to getting all stats and results on GoCCUsports.com, fans can 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.