COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina beach volleyball had a tough task on Friday, as the Chanticleers had not one, but two matches versus nationally-ranked top-20 foes on day one of the Palmetto Invitational in Columbia, S.C.
 
The Chants battled in both contests, falling 3-2 to the No. 20 FGCU Eagles in the morning session and dropping the final match of the day at 4-1 to the No. 18 South Carolina Gamecocks.
 
With the 0-2 day, the Sandy Chants fell to 17-12 overall on the season.
 
No. 20 FGCU 3, Coastal Carolina 2
 
The Chanticleers opened up day one of the Palmetto Invitational on Friday afternoon with a 3-2 loss to the No. 20 nationally-ranked Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles.
 
FGCU took an early 1-0 match lead with a 21-10, 21-11 straight-set win on court No. 5 before holding on to a three-set victory on court No. 4 to double its lead at 2-0.
 
The bout on court No. 4 saw the Sandy Chants' pair of Carli Ginther and Raychel Ehlers bounce back from a 21-13 first-set loss to take the second set 24-22 and force a third game. The third game was a close contest, as FGCU's Snowy Burnam and Cortney Vanliew escaped the Chants' duo with a 17-15 win.
 
CCU picked up a win in the next flight, as the tandem of Ellie Hanford and Irena Drobnjak cruised to a 21-13, 21-17 win on court No. 2 to cut the Eagles' match lead to one at 2-1.
 
However, before the pair of Natalie Honzovicova and Madie Lichty held on to win on court No. 3 with a score of 21-19, 20-22, 15-13, the Eagles team of Maddison Parmelly and Kacie Johnson was victorious at 21-9, 21-14 on court No. 1 to give FGCU the third win and seal the 3-2 victory.
 
No. 18 South Carolina 4, Coastal Carolina 1

In their second match of the day, the Chants posted a win on court No. 5 in a 4-1 setback to the No. 18 nationally-ranked Gamecocks.

Down 1-0 after dropping the match in the No. 4 flight, the CCU duo of Ginther and Ehlers scored a 21-19, 21-12 straight-set victory at the No. 5 flight to even the match at 1-1.

However, the Sandy Chants would fall in the top three flights to put the final tally at 4-1 in favor of the tournament host South Carolina.

The Sandy Chants will close out the Palmetto Invitational with a match against the College of Charleston tomorrow at 9 a.m. ET.
 
Results
 
No. 20 FGCU 3, Coastal Carolina 2
1. Maddison Parmelly/Kacie Johnson (FGCU) def. Martine Kragholm/Sarah Riedell (CCU) – 21-9, 21-14
2. Irena Drobnjak/Ellie Hanford (CCU) def. Jacqueline Carpenter/Lexie Hamilton (FGCU) – 21-13, 21-17
3. Natalie Honzovicova/Madie Lichty (CCU) def. Trinity Rosales/Shelby Beisner (FGCU) – 21-19, 20-22, 15-13
4. Snowy Burnam/Cortney Vanliew (FGCU) def. Carli Ginther/Raychel Ehlers (CCU) - 21-13, 22-24, 17-15
5. Emma Hansen/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU) def. Emma Gonzalez/Madison Allred (CCU) – 21-10, 21-11
Ext. Skylar English/Elizabeth Richmond (FGCU) def. Kalin Eske/Elena Sanchez (CCU) – 21-18, 13-21, 15-8
 
Order of finish: 5, 4, 2, 1, 3
 
No. 18 South Carolina 4, Coastal Carolina 1
1. Skylar Allen/Whitley Ballard (SC) def. Martine Kragholm/Sarah Riedell (CCU) - 21-18, 21-18
2. Jordan Smith/Lauren Wilcock (SC) def. Ellie Hanford/Irena Drobnjak (CCU) - 21-18, 21-18
3. Hannah Mackenhausen/Kaeli Crews (SC) def. Natalie Honzovicova/Madie Lichty (CCU) - 21-16, 21-19
4. Abby Carroll/Alyssa Keller (SC) def. Kalin Eske/Madison Allred (CCU) - 21-13, 21-9
5. Carli Ginther/Raychel Ehlers (CCU) def. Hailey Cabeceiras/Jillian Gleason (SC) - 21-19, 21-12
Ext. Nicole Deobler/Courtney Weber (SC) def. Elena Sanchez/Alyssa Eske (CCU) - 21-12, 21-16
 
Order of finish: 4,5,2,3,1
 
For complete coverage of Coastal Carolina beach volleyball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalBeachVB (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUsports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.