CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina beach volleyball team wrapped up its 2022 regular-season slate with a split at home with No. 15 Georgia State and Erskine on Saturday afternoon at the Coastal Carolina Beach Volleyball Complex in Conway, S.C.
With the 1-1 split, the Sandy Chants ended the regular season at 18-14 overall.
Coastal had two Chanticleers in
Irena Drobnjak and
Ellie Hanford reach milestones with their wins on Saturday. Drobnjak picked up her 50th individual career win as a Chant in the match versus Georgia State, while with her two wins on the day alongside Drobnjak, Hanford set the program record in individual single-season wins with 26 on the year.
No. 15 Georgia State 4, Coastal Carolina 1
Facing the nationally-ranked Panthers for the third time this season, the Chanticleers earned a win at the No. 2 flight and pushed the match to three sets at No. 1 in the 4-1 defeat.
After falling behind in the match with straight-set losses at flights No. 4 and No. 5, the Sandy Chants picked up a 21-14, 21-18 straight-set win at flight No. 2 from the duo of Drobjnak and Hanford.
Trailing 2-1 in the match, the Chants' pair of Martine Kragholm and Sarah Riedell pushed the Panthers' top flight of Elise Saga and Kelly Dorn to the brink before falling in three sets 21-17, 19-21, 15-12 to give the visitors the match win.
The Panthers closed out the match with a 21-15, 21-9 win at flight No. 3 to record the 4-1 win.
Coastal Carolina 5, Erskine 0
In their second match of the day, the Sandy Chants dominated from start to finish in a 5-0 win over the Erskine Flying Fleet. The win was the sixth-straight for the Chanticleers over Erskine on the sand.
CCU opened the match with a 21-7, 21-6 dominating win by the team of
Madison Allred and
Madie Lichty on court No. 4, while the pair of
Carli Ginther and
Raychel Ehlers cruised to a 21-13, 21-10 victory on court No. 5 to give the home team a 2-0 match lead.
The duo of Hanford and Drobnjak followed with a 21-9, 21-15 win at flight No. 2 to give the home team a 3-0 match lead and seal the win.
CCU followed with a 21-17, 21-9 straight-set win by
Elena Sanchez and
Natalie Honzovicova at flight No. 3 to push the lead out to 4-0.
In the top flight, the team of
Sarah Riedell and
Martine Kragholm overcame a second-set loss to win in three sets 21-6, 21-23, 15-8 to complete the 5-0 shutout win.
The Sandy Chants will now set their sights on the 2022 Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championship Tournament held on April 28-30 in Huntsville, Ala.
Results
No. 15 Georgia State 4, Coastal Carolina 1
1. Elise Saga/Kelly Dorn (GSU) def.
Martine Kragholm/
Sarah Riedell (CCU) – 21-17, 19-21, 15-12
2.
Irena Drobnjak/
Ellie Hanford (CCU) def. Eden Hawes/Maddy Delmonte (GSU) – 21-14, 21-18
3. Kayla Whetstone/Yasmin Kuck (GSU) def.
Natalie Honzovicova/
Madie Lichty (CCU) – 21-15, 21-9
4. Angel Ferary/Bella Ferary (GSU) def.
Madison Allred/
Elena Sanchez (CCU) – 21-10 21-13
5. Chloee Kleespies/Ayla Johnson (GSU) def.
Raychel Ehlers/
Carli Ginther (CCU) 21-12, 25-23
Ext. Becky Tresham/Bailey Hatchett (GSU) def.
Kalin Eske/
Emma Gonzalez (CCU) – 21-16, 20-22, 15-7
Order of finish: 4, 5, 2, 1, 3
Coastal Carolina 5, Erskine 0
1.
Martine Kragholm/
Sarah Riedell (CCU) def. Morgan Browne/Olivia Browne (Erskine) – 21-6, 21-23, 15-8
2.
Ellie Hanford/
Irena Drobnjak (CCU) def. Emily Gilbert/M.J. Cackett (Erskine) – 21-9, 21-15
3.
Natalie Honzovicova/
Elena Sanchez (CCU) def. Kylie McKean/Mallory Carter (Erskine) – 21-17, 21-9
4.
Madison Allred/
Madie Lichty (CCU) def. Maisy Garner/Karina Petrovich (Erskine) – 21-7, 21-6
5.
Carli Ginther/
Raychel Ehlers (CCU) def. Kaile Tuisamatatele/Allison Carter (Erskine) – 21-13, 21-10
Ext.
Emma Gonzalez/
Kalin Eske (CCU) def. Olivia Holm/Micah Diffley (Erskine) – 21-7, 23-21
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.
