GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Coastal Carolina women's volleyball team fell to 6-4 overall on the season as the Chanticleers dropped their second consecutive match, 15-25, 19-25, 21-25, in as many days to the No. 14 Florida Gators on Sunday at the O'Connell Center.
In the loss, super senior Ani Bozdeva had an excellent day for CCU as she had 14 kills with no errors while hitting .483.
The Gators took the first set win over Chanticleers, 25-15, as they used a 7-0 run on the serve of Trinity Adams. Subsequently, UF won the hitting percentage battle against Coastal .545 to .125, forcing CCU hitters into five hitting errors. Bozdeva had a solid first set for the teal and bronze with three kills and no errors for a .429 hitting percentage.
Florida forced Coastal Carolina to use both timeouts with a 14-5 rally to start set two. However, after the second break, the Chanticleers chipped away at the Gators' lead. With the help of junior Jelena Prolic's service game, who kept Florida off-balance, the Chants' closed the deficit to 18-12. Bozdeva had two of her five second-set kills during the run, but UF staved off the Chants' comeback, winning 25-19.
CCU showed its resiliency in the final set as the Chants jumped on Florida by the score of 4-2. However, UF regained the advantage and extended its largest lead of the period to eight points at 22-14. Sofia Victoria propelled the Gators with three of her six kills in the set to full the run. The Chants' veteran leadership of Bozdeva, Doris Carter, and Cheyenne Jones put the third set into question for Florida. The threesome had five kills and an ace, forcing Florida into a timeout late in the third set at 23-19. Coastal Carolina added a pair of points after the break, but the Gators were able to hang on for the 25-21 victory.
Coastal setter Marija Borcic had a team-high 12 assists in the loss to the Gators.
Florida's Victoria and T'ara Ceasar had 14 and 13 kills, respectively, in the three-set victory. Ceasar also had a match-high 11 digs.
Marlie Monserez had a match-high 36 assists for the Gators in the win.
Coastal Carolina returns to action next weekend at home in the HTC Center. The Chanticleers will begin conference play as they will host Little Rock on Friday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. ET. and Arkansas State at noon ET on Sunday, Sept. 26. Both matches will be shown on ESPN+.
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.
