MOBILE, Ala. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team was swept 3-0 (225-17, 25-22, 25-20) by the South Alabama Jaguars in the first of two road contests in Mobile, Ala., on Friday evening. CCU dropped to 17-9 on the season and 9-4 in Sun Belt Conference play, with the loss. With the win, the Jaguars improved to 15-10 overall and 9-4 in conference play.
 
The Chanticleers' offense was led by the duo of Ella Saada and Paulina Perez Rosas with 10 kills each, while setter Brigitta Petrenko tallied 22 assists.
 
Defensively, Nyla Shepherd finished with a team-high six blocks, while Petrenko totaled four stops. The defensive specialist Lina Perugini paced the defense with 14 digs, while Perez Rosas tallied a double-double with 12 of the team's 44 digs.
 
In the opening set, CCU jumped out front with the early 5-3 advantage highlighted by a pair of kills by Saada before the Jags by way of a 3-0 burst pushed in front at 6-5. The Chants answered with a 4-0 run to take a 9-6 lead, sparked by a Shepherd kill and capped by a block assist by the tandem of Shepherd and Petrenko.
 
After both teams traded points, South Alabama opened a 16-10 advantage with a 9-0 surge and forced Coastal to call both of its timeouts. The two teams traded the next six points before the Chanticleers battled back to trail 19-16 with three unanswered points, highlighted by a pair of block assists by the CCU defense.
 
South Alabama picked up the opening set win by outscoring the visiting squad from Conway, S.C., 6-1 for the 25-17 win.
 
Despite trailing 1-0 in the match, Coastal Carolina pushed to a 5-4 lead in set two, sparked by a pair of Perez Rosas spikes and topped off by back-to-back kills by Petrenko and Saada. USA answered the bell to fight back and take a 10-7 lead by outscoring the Chants 6-2 over the next few rallies.
 
CCU outscored the host team 2-1 over the next nine points to even the second set at 13-13, highlighted by three putdowns by Perez Rosas. Coastal and the Jags traded the next six points to remain tied at 16-16, just to see USA push in front at 22-18 by outscoring the Chants 6-2.
 
The Chanticleers battled back to trail by one at 23-22 using a 4-1 run, highlighted by a Jaguar service error, and capped by a block assist by Petrenko and Shepherd. South Alabama picked up the second set win at 25-23 to take a 2-0 set advantage in the match.
 
In the third and final set, the Jaguars jumped out to the early 5-3 advantage only to see the Chanticleers fight back to even the match at 6-6 behind a pair of USA miscues. Coastal used the momentum to take a 12-8 advantage by outscoring the Jags 6-2, highlighted by a pair of service aces by the Chants.
 
Coastal Carolina held on to a four-point advantage at 17-13 by matching USA point-for-point over the next 10 rallies, led by three spikes by Perez Rosas. The Jaguars took control of the match with a 9-0 burst at 22-17 just before the two teams traded the final six points for the 25-20 South Alabama set-three win.
 
Coastal Carolina and South Alabama will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 5, with the first serve scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, in Mobile, Ala.

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.