STATESBORO, GA. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team needed five sets to pick up its sixth consecutive win with a 3-2 (25-25, 18-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-10) over Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon in Statesboro, Ga., to remain unbeaten in Sun Belt Conference play. With the win, the Chanticleers move to 11-7 overall and 6-0 in SBC play while the Eagles drop to 13-4 on the year and 2-4 in conference action.
 
CCU's Jasmine Rivest led the offense with 17 kills with Agata Lesiak, Jalyn Stout, and Alicja Jaryszek finishing with 14, 12, and 11 kills, respectively. Stout tallied a match-high 35 assists, while Cagla Bengi added 18 assists to spark the offense.
 
Defensively, Valentina Varani paced the defense with six blocks while Dilara Unal and Jaryszek added three and two blocks at the net. Libero Sydney Lewis tallied a match-high 18 digs, while Rivest recorded her ninth double-double and Stout tallied her fifth triple-double of the year.
 
Georgia Southern was led by Reagan Barth with 23 with Paige Powers adding 10 kills. Cason Callaway had a team-high 24 assists and Kirsten Barrett added 23 assists. Ally Barnhart led the defense with seven blocks while Ashlyn Lovett and Rebekah Farthing tallied 18 digs.
 
In the opening set, Coastal used a 5-0 surge to jump to a 7-2 advantage, highlighted by a pair of kills by Lauren Malone. Coastal continued to dominate the first set with a 7-3 run to lead 14-5, ignited by a spike by Malone and capped off by a Stout kill, that included the Eagles calling their first timeout.
 
However, Georgia Southern pulled to within 16-10 with a 5-2 spurt before forcing the Chants to call their first timeout of the opening set with a 4-2 run to trail 18-14, that included a 3-0 burst. Coastal answered with a 7-1 run, sparked by a kill by Rivest and topped off by a mistake by the Eagles for the opening set win at 25-15.
 
In the second set, GS raced to a 6-0 lead that forced Coastal to call its first timeout of the set. CCU cut the deficit to 8-5 with a 5-2 surge, highlighted by three putdowns by Rivest. The Eagles increased its lead to 13-7 with a 5-2 run of their own. The two teams traded the next 11 rallies with the Chanticleers trailing 18-13.
 
Coastal called its second timeout of the set after a pair of quick points by Georgia Southern for the 20-13 advantage. After the break, the Chants forced the host Eagles to make a pair of mistakes to trail 20-15. GS evened the match at 1-1 with a 5-3 spurt for the 25-18 second-set win.
 
The third set saw Georgia Southern jump to a 5-1 lead only to see the Chanticleers battle back to trail 7-4 with a 3-2 exchange in rallies. The Eagles forced CCU to call its first timeout of the third set with a 3-0 run for the 10-4 lead. After the break, Coastal cut the lead to 12-9, highlighted by kills by Stout, Jaryszek, and Lesiak.
 
After trading the next 10 points, Coastal trailed 17-14 before a 2-0 spurt forced the second timeout of the set by the Chanticleers. The Chants used a 5-0 burst to even the set at 19-19, ignited and capped by a Jaryszek spike. The two teams traded ties five times over the next 10 points, that included the Eagles calling their final timeout of the set. However, Georgia Southern claimed a 2-1 match advantage with a pair of quick points for the 26-24 third-set win.
 
In the fourth set, the Chants raced out to a 4-2 advantage, highlighted by a pair of kills by Lesiak.  Georgia Southern to a 5-4 lead with a 3-0 spurt only to see the Chants respond with kills by Stout and Jaryszek to lead 6-5. After a quick point by the Eagles, CCU used a second 3-0 surge in the set to take a 9-6 advantage.
 
Georgia Southern evened the match at 11-11 on with a 5-2 run only to see the Chants push back into the lead at 13-12 on a Lesiak kill and Unal block. However, the Eagles used a 3-0 surge to push in front 15-13 at the media timeout. The Ladies in Teal regained their composure in the break to take a 21-16 lead with an 8-1 burst, highlighted by a pair of service aces by Emma Van Elslande.
 
The Eagles forced the Chants to call their first timeout with a 4-2 spurt trailing 23-20. After the break in action, a Jaryszek kill and a miscue by GS gave Coastal the 25-21 fourth-set win and even the match at 2-2.
 
In the fifth and final set, the Chanticleers raced out to a 7-2 lead, highlighted by three kills by Rivest that included a timeout by Georgia Southern. After a quick point by GS, Coastal forced the Eagles to call their final timeout of the set with a pair of quick kills by Rivest and Jaryszek to lead 9-3.
 
The Eagles responded with a 4-1 burst to trail 10-7 that forced the Chants to call their first timeout of the set. The two teams traded the next six rallies with CCU holding a 13-10 advantage. Coastal's Unal and Rivest gave the Chanticleers their sixth Sun Belt Conference win of the season with the 15-10 fifth-set and 3-2 match win.
 
Coastal Carolina will return the HTC Center in Conway, S.C., for its next matchups versus Old Dominion on Friday and Saturday, October 13-14. The opening serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Oct. 13 and 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 14.
 
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.