KNOXVILLE, TENN. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team dropped its first-round match to the No. 21 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-23) in the 2023 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship. The match was played in front of 1,172 spectators at the Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday.
Coastal was led by the duo of
Jalyn Stout (12 kills, 17 assists) and
Jasmine Rivest (10 kills) as Stout recorded her 12th double-double of the season.
Cala Bengi finished with a team-high 21 assists with
Agata Lesiak and
Lauren Malone each tallying seven kills.
Defensively, Coastal totaled six blocks on the afternoon as
Dilara Unal finished with three blocks on the front line. Freshman libero
Sydney Lewis tallied a match-high 10 digs with
Bailee Earnhardt adding eight digs.
The Hilltoppers were led by Paige Briggs and Kaylee Cox with 18 and 17 kills, respectively. Callie Bauer tallied a match-high 43 assists. Defensively, Cox, Logan Grevengod, and Izzy Van De Wiele finished with three blocks each.
The opening set saw Western Kentucky take a 5-2 lead. The Chanticleers used kills by Rivest, Malone, and Stout to fight back to trail 6-5. After the two teams traded the next four rallies, WKU used a 5-0 burst to lead 13-7. After a 7-2 surge, the Hilltoppers increased their lead to 20-9 and traded the final 10 points with CCU to take the opening set 25-14.
In the second set, WKU jumped out to a 4-0 lead just to see Coastal Carolina battle back to even the set at 7-7 with a 7-3 run, sparked by a spike by Stout and capped off by a Hilltopper miscue. After trading the next seven points the Chants trailed 11-10 and CCU battled back to take a 14-11 with a 4-0 spurt, highlighted by a Lewis service ace.
Coastal maintained its three-point lead over the next six rallies just to see the Hilltoppers take a 19-18 with a 5-1 surge. Western Kentucky claimed the second set 25-20 with a 6-2 burst to lead the match 2-0.
In the third and final set, the two teams traded the first 30 points to remain even at 15-15 before WKU took a 17-15 advantage. Coastal would not go away that easily, as the Chanticleers fought back to lead 21-20 with a 6-2 spurt, ignited by a kill by Lesiak and topped off by a Rivest spike.
After the Hilltoppers evened the set at 21-21, Coastal's Stout put back-to-back kills down to put the Chants back to the lead at 23-21. However, Western Kentucky scored the final four points to win the third set 25-23 for the 3-0 match win.
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.
