FOLEY, ALA. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team overpowered the University of Louisiana with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-20) win on Friday afternoon in the quarterfinal round at the 2023 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship. With the win, the Chanticleers improve to 20-9, while the Ragin' Cajuns fall to 19-13.
 
Coastal was led by the duo of Jasmine Rivest (18 kills, 13 digs) and Jalyn Stout (11 kills) as they recorded double-doubles. Rivest totaled two service aces, while Stout finished with a match-high 21 assists.
 
Defensively, Coastal tallied nine blocks on the afternoon as Valentina Varani finished with seven blocks, while Rivest totaled three blocks on the front line. Freshman libero Sydney Lewis tallied a match-high 19 digs with Rivest adding 13 digs.
 
Louisiana was led by Celeste Darling with 11 kills and three blocks with Lauryn Hill and Mya Wilson adding six kills each. Siena DeCambra totaled a match-high 29 assists. Darling was aided on the defensive side by Wilson and Hill with three blocks apiece.
 
The opening set saw the two teams trade the first 12 points to remain even at 6-6 before the Chanticleers jumped to an 8-6 advantage on kills by Varani and Cala Bengi only to see Louisiana answer with a 3-0 spurt to take a 9-6 lead. After a kill by Coastal's Lauren Malone, the Ragin' Cajuns used a second 3-0 surge to take a 12-9 advantage.
 
The Chants answered with a 4-1 run to even the set at 13-13 before Louisiana retook the lead at 17-14 with a 4-1 spurt of its own. Coastal Carolina closed the first set with an 11-2 burst to take a 1-0 match lead with the 25-19 first set win, ignited by a pair of spikes by Stout and topped off by a Rivest kill.
 
In the second set, CCU doubled up the Ragin' Cajuns at 6-3, highlighted by three kills by Rivest. After trading the next nine rallies, Coastal used a 4-0 surge to take an 14-8 advantage that included three blocks by the Chanticleer front line of Rivest, Varani, and Agata Lesiak.
 
However, the Cajuns battled back to trail by 17-16 by way of an 8-3 run before Coastal Carolina used a 4-0 spurt to take a 21-16 lead, highlighted by a pair of service aces by Stout. The two teams traded the final nine points with CCU's Stout putting the finishing touch on a 25-21 second set win.
 
In the third and final set, the two teams traded runs as the Chanticleers answered a Louisiana 3-1 run with a 3-0 surge to take a 4-3 advantage. The Ragin' Cajuns then followed with a 4-0 spurt to take a 7-4 lead only to see Coastal Carolina use an 11-4 burst for a 15-11 lead at the media break, sparked and capped by kills by Rivest.
 
 However, Louisiana evened the set at 15-15 with a second 4-0 run just to see the Chants use a 7-2 burst to take a 22-17 advantage, highlighted by three spikes by Rivest. The two squads traded the final six points for the final margin of 25-20 as CCU swept the match 3-0 with the third set victory.
 
Coastal Carolina will return to action in Foley, Ala., in the 2023 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship, as the Chanticleers will meet No.2W South Alabama on Saturday, Nov. 18, at 3 p.m. ET.
 
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.