CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team will return to the friendly confines of the HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., this weekend, as the Chanticleers will open Sun Belt Conference play versus the Georgia State Panthers. The two teams will meet on Friday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m. ET and Saturday, Sept. 24, at 1 p.m. ET.
HISTORY BETWEEN COASTAL & GEORGIA STATE
Coastal and the Panthers have met 20 times since September of 1987 with CCU holding a 17-3 all-time series advantage. The Chants, who have never lost to GSU in Conway, S.C., are riding a 15-match winning streak over the Panthers, while Georgia State last won in October 2002 in Atlanta.
CCU swept the Panthers 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-21) in the last meeting on Nov. 7, 2021. Four members from that team,
Brigitta Petrenko,
Lina Perugini,
Christina Nance, and
Jasmine Rivest all saw action in the win, while Petrenko tallied 22 assists to lead the Chants' offense, while Rivest and Nance combined for seven spikes.
ABOUT COASTAL
The Chanticleers are 8-5 on the season, having gone 1-2 at the Penn State Classic. In the opening day match on Sept. 16, Howard picked up its first win over CCU since the 2006 season. Coastal rebounded in the second match of the day and earned a 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 24-26, 25-23, 15-13) five-set win in the first-ever meeting with UAlbany. The Chanticleers closed out the tournament with a 3-0 loss against the host and nationally-ranked No. 11 Penn State Nittany Lions on Sept. 17. Super senior
Paulina Perez Rosas was named to the Penn State Classic All-Tournament team for her play, as she finished the weekend with 42 kills, five assists, 27 digs, and five blocks.
The Chants' offense is led by Perez Rosas with 134 kills on the year, while
Agata Lesiak has added 99 spikes. Petrenko is the team's assist and service ace leader, as the Eger, Hungary, native has 403 assists and 21 service aces in the first 13 matches this year. Petrenko's 21 service aces for the season have her only 16 shy from setting a new program record for career aces.
Defensively, Coastal Carolina has totaled 112 blocks as a team, highlighted by
Christina Nance with a total of 39 blocks,
Nyla Shepherd with 32 blocks, and Petrenko and Perez Rosas with 25 and 24 blocks, respectively. Perugini has picked up 213 digs in the 46 sets played giving the Bethlehem, Pa., native 1,414 career digs. Perugini surpassed Katherine Jensen-Spencer (2003-05) for sixth on the all-time list and is 49 shy of Katherine Jensen-Spencer (2003-05) for fifth all-time.
ABOUT GEORGIA STATE
Georgia State will enter play this weekend with a 4-8 record, with two of those wins coming in the Jacksonville Invitational on Sept. 2-3. The Panthers have earned the four wins over Presbyterian, Chattanooga, USC Upstate, and South Carolina State.
As a team, GSU has recorded 521 kills, 480 assists, and 91 service aces on the offensive attack. Julianna Truscott leads the attack with 106 spikes, while Erin Wyatt has put down 92 kills. Setter Jenna Brown leads the team with 211 assists as Maren Palmer and Laughlin Murray have added 89 and 83 assists, respectively. Brown also leads the Panthers with 25 service aces.
Defensively, Georgia State has stopped 121.5 kill attempts while also digging 673 of the opponent's shots. The net is protected by Laura Ehieze (49) and Clara Bednarek (45) as they are the only Panthers with 45 or more blocks on the season. Izzy Durnell (29) and Isabelle Percoco (24) have combined for 53 blocks. Livy Kowalkowski leads the team with 210 digs, along with Wyatt, who has added 107 digs on the year.
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.
