HARRISONBURG, VA. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team was knocked off 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 27-25) by the James Madison Dukes on Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg, Va., to wrap up play for the weekend.
Coastal (8-11, 4-4 SBC) was led by
Agata Lesiak and
Jalyn Stout 17 and 16 kills, respectively, while
Emily Fowler (9) and
Emma Van Elslande (7) added a combined 16 put downs. Stout tallied a team-high 24 assists with
Cagla Bengi adding 19 helpers.
Defensively, CCU totaled six blocks as
Valentina Varani and
Dilara Unal stopped three kill attempts each, while Fowler and Van Elslande totaled two blocks each at the net.
Sydney Lewis (14), Stout (11), and
Bailee Earnhardt (10) finished with double-digit digs as Stout recorded her 11th triple-double.
The Dukes were paced by Bre Reid with a match-high 28 kills with Annie Smith and Sarah Schnell adding 14 and eight kills, respectively. Rebecca Watkins finished with a match-high 33 assists, while Jordan Smart added 16 helpers.
James Madison (10-8, 5-3 SBC) stopped 10 CCU kill attempts with Ayen Nhial and Watkins stopping five spikes each, while Smith and Olivia Vance blocked four and three kill attempts, respectively. Julia McNeley finished with 22 digs with Jaydyn Clemmer and Madilyn O'Toole added 11 digs each.
In the opening set, Coastal raced to a 5-2 lead, highlighted by a pair of service aces by Unal. The Dukes outscored the Chants 8-5 to even the score at 10-10, which included a 3-0 run by JMU. The two teams traded the next 16 rallies with CCU trailing 19-17.
After the Dukes took a 20-17, the Chanticleers evened the set at 20-20 with a 3-0 spurt, sparked by a Lesiak kill and capped off by a pair of kills by Varani. James Madison retook the lead with two quick points before a second 3-0 burst put CCU in front 23-22. JMU scored the final three points to take a 1-0 match lead with the 25-23 opening set win.
The first 20 points to start the second set were split evenly as the score remained deadlocked at 10-10 before the Dukes jumped in front 13-10. The two teams traded the next eight rallies with JMU holding a three-point advantage at 17-14. Coastal Carolina answered with a 7-2 surge to take a 21-19 lead, which included two kills each by Stout and Lesiak. The home-standing Dukes evened the set at 23-23 before the Chants evened the match at 1-1 with the 25-23 second-set win.
In the third set, the two teams traded 3-0 runs to open the set to remain even at 3-3 before the Dukes opened a 12-7 lead with a 9-4 burst. James Madison increased its lead to 22-13 with a 10-6 spurt before the Chanticleers outscored JMU 7-2 to trail 24-20, which included kills by Unal, Lesiak, Fowler, and Varani. The Dukes claimed the third set 25-20 to take a 2-1 match lead.
In the final set, James Madison opened a 4-1 lead before a 3-0 surge by CCU evened the score at 4-4, sparked by a Lesiak kill and topped off by a Lesiak service ace. JMU answered with a second 4-1 spurt to take a three-point lead at 8-5 before Coastal scored four straight points to take a 9-8 lead, highlighted by kills by Varani and Stout.
The two teams traded the next 10 points with the visitors from Conway to hold their lead at 14-13. A 7-3 run gave the Dukes a 20-17 advantage before CCU answered with a 6-3 burst even the set at 23-23, which included a pair of kills by Lesiak. James Madison outscored the Chants 4-2 to claim the 3-1 victory with the 27-25 fourth-set win.
Coastal Carolina will remain on the road as the Chanticleers travel to Boone, N.C., to meet Appalachian State on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 24-25. The opening serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on both days.
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.
