CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team fell 3-2 (25-20, 21-25, 17-25, 25-22, 15-10) to the Texas State Bobcats on Friday afternoon in Conway, S.C. CCU dropped to 17-12 on the season and 9-7 in Sun Belt Conference action with the loss, while Texas State moved to 22-6 overall and 14-2 in league play with the win.
Coastal's offense was led by
Ella Saada with 21 kills, while
Paulina Perez Rosas added 15 spikes. Saada reached double-digit kills in 14 consecutive matches and 17 of the 25 matches she has appeared in this year.
Setters
Brigitta Petrenko and
Jexsamarie Perez combined for 53 assists to aid their team in the five-set loss.
Defensively, Saada (8) and middle blocker
Christina Nance (5) finished with 13 of the team's 14 blocks. Defensive specialist
Lina Perugini dug 27 of the Texas State kill attempts, while Perez Rosas and Petrenko added 17 and 12 digs, respectively.
In the first set, the visitors from Texas jumped out to the early 6-2 advantage only to see the homestanding Chanticleers battle back to within two points at 8-6, highlighted by a pair of spikes by
Nyla Shepherd. After the two teams traded points, the Bobcats increased their lead to 16-10 with five unanswered points.
Over the final 19 points, the two teams traded points as Coastal's comeback attempt was halted as the Bobcats picked up the 25-20 opening-set win.
As in the previous night, Coastal entered the second set trailing in the match 1-0. The Chants took the early 5-3 lead, as Saada sandwiched three Chanticleer points between a pair of spikes. Texas State fought back to even the set at 7-7 with a 4-0 burst before the two squads traded the next seven points and the Bobcats took an 11-10 lead
After the two teams traded the next five rallies, Coastal scored three unanswered to take a 15-14 advantage. After another point exchange, the Chants outscored Texas State 7-1 to even the match at one set each with the 25-21 second-set win.
With the match knotted up at 1-1, CCU forced the Bobcats into several mistakes to take a 7-3 advantage in the third set, only to see Texas State battle back with a 4-1 run to cut the Chants' lead to 8-7. Coastal increased its advantage to 13-8 with a 5-1 burst, highlighted by a pair of kills by Nance, and forced Texas State to call its first timeout of the set.
After the break, the Bobcats surged back to within two points at 13-11 with a 3-0 run, just to see Coastal reclaim its momentum with four unanswered points to force Texas State to call its second timeout trailing 17-11. The two teams traded the next five points before the Chanticleers sandwiched a Bobcat 3-0 burst with two 3-0 runs of their own to earn the 25-17 third-set win.
Texas State opened the fourth set with a 5-3 advantage only to see Coastal Carolina use a pair of 3-0 bursts to take a 14-13, highlighted by three kills by Saada. However, the Bobcats answered with a 6-1 run to take a four-point advantage at 19-15. Despite trailing in the set, CCU fought back to within 20-19 with three unanswered, sparked by a Saada service ace and capped off by a Texas State miscue. The Bobcats evened the match with the third-set win by outscoring the Chants 5-3 for the 25-22 victory.
In the fifth and final set, Texas State took the early 7-4 advantage with a 3-0 surge after Saada tied the set up twice with a pair of kills. The two teams traded points before the Bobcats flexed their muscles for the fifth-set win at 15-10 with 5-2 burst.
Coastal Carolina will return action in the Sun Belt Volleyball Championship in Mobile, Ala. The conference tournament is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 16, with matchup and times to be announced once league play is completed.
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.
