ATLANTA, GA. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team won a five-set thriller over the Georgia State Panthers in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Chanticleers improved to 7-7 overall and 2-0 in Sun Belt Conference play, while the Panthers dropped to 3-10 and 0-2 in league play.
 
For the day, Jasmine Rivest and Jalyn Stout finished with 36 and 14 kills, respectively, while Cagla Bengi and Stout finished with 51 and 13 assists, respectively. It was back-to-back double-doubles for Rivest and Stout with Stout adding 14 digs for her third triple-double of the year.
 
Defensively, Dilara Unal paced the defense with five blocks, while Emma Van Elslande finished with four blocks. Libero Sydney Lewis tallied a match-high 19 digs on the day.
 
Georgia State was led by Jahniya Jackson, Erin Wyatt, and Aaliyah Mitchell with 16, 11, and 11 kills, respectively, while Laughlin Murray had a team-high 25 assists. Akira Burt led the defense with 11 blocks.
 
In the opening set, Coastal opened a 4-0 advantage, sparked by a Valentina Varani spike and Rivest's first kill of the day. The Panthers used a 5-2 surge to cut the deficit to 6-5 only to see the Chanticleers muscle in front at 12-5 with a 6-0 burst highlighted by three kills by Stout.
 
After a GSU point, Coastal used a 5-0 spurt to open a 17-6 advantage that included a pair of kills by Van Elslande. The two teams traded the next six points with CCU leading 19-10. The Chants increased their lead to 22-10 with a 3-0 run that included three kills by Rivest. After a two quick points by the Panthers, Coastal outscored Georgia State 3-2 to claim a 1-0 match lead and 25-14 opening set win.
 
In the second set, Coastal used a 5-0 run to take a 5-1 lead highlighted by a pair of kills by Rivest. The Panthers cut the margin to 8-5 by outscoring the visitors 4-3 to spark the two teams to play even over the next 14 rallies for an 15-12 score at the media break. After the break, the two teams continued to trade the next eight points to keep the deficit at three points at 19-16.
 
However, Georgia State used a 5-1 spurt to force the Chants to call their first timeout of the set trailing 21-20. Coastal answered with a 4-1 surge to push in front 24-22 and included the Panthers calling two quick timeouts. Stout put the Chants in front 2-0 in the match with the kill to give CCU a 25-23 second-set win.
 
Georgia State took an 8-1 lead on an 8-0 run to open the third set that forced the Chants to call their first timeout of the set. Coastal responded with two quick points on kills by Rivest to trail 8-3, just to see the Panthers race to a 15-6 advantage with a 7-3 burst that included the Chanticleers calling their final timeout of the set.
 
The Chants began to battle back with an 8-4 run to trail 19-14, highlighted by a pair of spikes by Unal. However, the host Panthers responded with two quick points before a Stout kill sparked a 3-0 run to pull the Chanticleers to within 21-17. Georgia State used a 4-1 run to get the 25-18 third-set win.
 
The fourth set saw both teams battle to a 5-5 deadlock before Georgia State used a 10-2 run to open a 15-7 advantage and forced Coastal to call its first timeout of the set. The two teams traded the next 12 points with GSU holding an 21-14 lead just before the Chants cut the lead to 21-20 with a 6-0 spurt ignited by a Stout kill and capped off by a Varani spike in the middle.
 
After a pair of points by the Panthers, Coastal evened the score at 23-23, highlighted by a pair of kills by Rivest that forced Georgia State to call its second timeout. The two squads traded the next five points before GSU evened the match at 2-2 with a 4-1 spurt for the 29-27 fourth-set win.
 
In the fifth and final set, Coastal raced out to a 4-2 advantage, that included a service ace by Sydney Lewis. The Panthers evened the set at 4-4 with two quick points just before CCU pushed in front 6-5 with kills by Unal and Rivest. Georgia State answered with a 7-3 run to take a 12-9 lead and force the Chants to call their second timeout of the set.
 
However, GSU increased its lead to 13-9 only to see the Chanticleers fight back to push in front at 15-14, highlighted by four spikes by Rivest that forced the Panthers to call both of their timeouts. Coastal's Rivest and Unal clinched the set at 17-15 with a kill and match-ending block to give the Ladies in Teal a 3-2 match win.
 
Coastal Carolina volleyball will return to the HTC Center on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 29-30, as the Chants will host Appalachian State with the opening serve set for 6 p.m. ET on Sept. 29 and 1 p.m. ET on Sept. 30.
 
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.