FOLEY, Ala. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team saw its 2022 season come to an end on Friday night, as the Chanticleers fell to the No. 3-seeded (West) South Alabama Jaguars in straight sets 25-21, 25-13, and 25-12, in the quarterfinals in the 2022 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship Tournament in Foley, Ala.
The Chanticleers finished the season at 17-13 overall, including going 7-2 at home inside the HTC Center.
Coastal was led by
Kendall Harris with six kills, while
Ella Saada and
Christina Nance added five and four spikes, respectively. Setter
Brigitta Petrenko finished with 18 assists, one kill, and one service ace on the offensive end. Defensively, defensive specialist
Lina Perugini and Saada led the team with 10 digs each, while Nance tallied two of the Chanticleers' three blocks.
In the opening set, CCU jumped out to a 5-3 advantage, highlighted by a pair of kills by Harris before USA evened the set at 7-7 with a 4-2 surge. After a 3-1 burst, sparked by a Harris spike and capped off by a Nance kill, Coastal took a 10-8 advantage only to see USA fight back to take an 11-10 lead on a 3-0 run.
The Chanticleers retook the lead at 15-13 with a 5-2 edge, highlighted by three miscues by South Alabama. However, the Jaguars battled back with a 9-3 surge to take the momentum and the lead at 22-18, forcing the Chants to call both of their timeouts. The two teams traded the final six points as USA scored the last two points for the 25-21 set-one win.
Despite trailing in the match 1-0, Coastal looked to regain the momentum and matched the Jaguars point-for-point for a 2-2 tie on kills by Harris and
Jasmine Rivest. However, the Chants only scored one point for every two points South Alabama recorded over the next 12 points to trail 10-6, highlighted by kills by Saada and
Rebeka Fucka.
The two teams traded the next four points with USA retaining a four-point advantage at 12-8, only to see South Alabama close out the second set with a 13-5 run for the 25-13 second-set win.
CCU found itself trailing 8-3 in the third and final set before calling its first timeout. Coming out of the break, the Jaguars outscored Coastal 4-1 to force the Chants to call their final timeout of the set trailing 12-4. However, South Alabama stretched its lead to 18-6 by way of a 6-2 spurt.
Coastal closed to within 10 points at 19-9 with a 3-1 run, sparked by a put down by Nance and capped off by a spike by
Agata Lesiak. The Jaguars scored two points for every one by the Chanticleers to hold on for the 25-12 third-set win and take the match at 3-0.
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.
