CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team will return to Conway, S.C., to host a pair of Sun Belt Conference contests against conference newcomer Marshall. Both teams will meet on Friday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. ET, and again on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m. ET.
HISTORY BETWEEN COASTAL & MARSHALL
The Chanticleers and the Thundering Herd will be meeting for just the second and third times and the first as SBC foes. Marshall swept CCU in the only meeting between the two programs at the ECU Invitational on Sept. 14, 2012 to hold a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series.
ABOUT COASTAL
The Chanticleers enter the weekend at 15-8 overall and 7-3 in Sun Belt action on the season after dropping two conference matches to the James Madison Dukes last week. Outside hitter
Ella Saada led the Chants' offense with a total of 28 kills combined over both contests, while setter
Brigitta Petrenko tallied 56 assists, seven kills, and one service ace.
Defensively, CCU blocked a combined 14 shots as
Christina Nance and
Nyla Shepherd paced the defense with seven and six blocks, respectively, while
Lina Perugini (25), Saada (16), and Petrenko (13) combined for 54 digs of the Chants' 86 total digs.
This season, the Chants' offense has been led by Saada with 222 kills on the year, while
Paulina Perez Rosas and
Agata Lesiak have added 187 and 136 spikes, respectively. Petrenko is the team's assist and service ace leader, as the Eger, Hungary, native has 768 assists and 44 service aces on the year.
Defensively, Coastal Carolina has totaled 195 blocks as a team, highlighted by Nance with a total of 72 blocks, Shepherd with 55 blocks, and Petrenko and Lesiak with 45 and 31 blocks, respectively. Perugini has picked up 359 digs in the 85 sets played, giving the Bethlehem, Pa., native 1,560 career digs. Perugini surpassed Katie Knutson (1999-02) and currently sits third on the all-time digs list.
ABOUT MARSHALL
The Herd will enter play this weekend with a 7-15 overall record and sit at 1-9 in Sun Belt play. Marshall has dropped its last six matches, including getting swept by Appalachian State last weekend.
As a team, the Herd have recorded 957 kills, 858 assists, and 81 service aces on the offensive attack. Macy McElhaney leads the attack with 216 spikes, while Lydia Montague (188) and Regan Tinkle (169) have both put down 165 or more kills on the year. Setter Brynn Brown leads the team with 538 set assists, while Montague leads the squad with 21 service aces.
Defensively, Marshall has stopped 176 kill attempts while also digging 1,215 of their opponent's shots. The net is protected by Montague (94), Essence Clerkley (50), and McElhaney (37), as they are the only Marshall blockers with 35 or more stops on the season. Defensive specialist Kaitlyn Gehler leads the team with 276 digs, along with McElhaney and Brown, who have added 188 and 181 digs, respectively.
For complete coverage of CCU women's 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.
