CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team dropped the opening match 3-1 (25-16, 25-16, 12-25, 25-16) of the weekend to the Old Dominion Monarchs on Friday evening in Norfolk, Va. With the loss, the Chanticleers drop to 6-8 overall and 2-1 in the Sun Belt, while the Monarchs improve to 12-2 on the season and 1-0 in league play with the win.
 
Jalyn Stout tallied a match-high 16 kills to go along with 13 assists to pace the Chants' offense, while Lauren Malone, Emma Van Elslande, and Dilara Unal finished with nine, eight, and seven kills, respectively. Cagla Bengi led the team with 22 assists.
 
Defensively, CCU totaled eight blocks as Unal stopped four kill attempts, while Stout and Valentina Varani totaled three blocks each at the net. Sydney Lewis finished with a match-high 17 digs as Stout added 13 digs to record her seventh triple-double.
 
ODU was paced by Myah Conway with a match-high 16 kills with Elisa Maggi adding 10 kills. Ashlyn Belcher finished with a match-high 26 assists.
 
The Monarchs stopped eight CCU kill attempts with Conway and Emma Schelah stopping four and three spikes at the net, respectively. Maggi and Hailee Blankenship finished with 11 digs each, while Belcher added 10 digs.
 
In the opening set, Old Dominion doubled up the visitors 8-4, forcing the Chanticleers to call their first timeout of the set. The two teams traded the next 10 points with the home-standing Monarchs holding a four-point advantage at 13-9. An 8-5 run by ODU pushed the lead to 21-14 before a 4-2 spurt gave the Monarchs a 25-16 win to lead 1-0.
 
Old Dominion raced out to an 11-3 lead in set number two. Coastal used a 6-3 surge to narrow the deficit to 14-9, ignited by an unforced ODU error and capped by a Van Elslande service ace. The two squads traded the next 10 rallies as the Monarchs maintained their five-point advantage at 19-14. Old Dominion outscored the Chanticleers 6-2 to take a 2-0 match lead with the 25-16 second-set win.
 
In the third set, ODU took a 5-3 lead before Coastal scored five straight to take an 8-5 advantage, highlighted by three kills by Stout. The Chants used a 10-3 burst to increase the lead to 18-8, sparked by an Old Dominion service error and capped by an unforced Monarch error.
 
The Monarchs used a 3-1 run to cut into the CCU lead at 19-11 before the Chanticleers claimed a 25-12 third-set victory that included back-to-back kills by Stout.
 
In the final set, the two teams traded the first six points to remain even at 3-3 before a 7-2 ODU burst forced Coastal to call a timeout. After the break, the Monarchs increased their lead to 20-8 with a 10-3 surge. Old Dominion maintained its 12-point lead at 22-10 as the two teams traded the next four points.
 
CCU cut the deficit to 23-14 with a 4-1 run only to see ODU match the Chants 2-2 over the next four rallies for the 3-1 match win with a 25-16 victory.
 
Coastal Carolina will remain in Norfolk, Va., as the Chanticleers will meet Old Dominion on Saturday, Oct. 5. The opening serve is scheduled for 2 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.