FOLEY, ALA. – Jalyn Stout led the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to a 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 20-25, 25-14) four-set win over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in Foley, Ala., on Thursday evening in the first round of the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship tournament.
Coastal (13-16) saw Stout finish with a match-high 20 kills to lead the Chanticleer offense, while
Agata Lesiak,
Emily Fowler, and
Lauren Malone finished with 12, eight, and eight kills and
Emma Van Elslande added six.
Ava Wallis tallied a team-high 23 assists, while Stout had 22 helpers.
Defensively, CCU totaled six blocks as Fowler stopped five kill attempts, while Stout, Lesiak, and Van Elslande finished with two blocks each. The Chants' leading blocker
Dilara Unal stopped one at the net.
Sydney Lewis tallied a match-high 21 digs to help the offense get back on track, while Stout (14) finished with double-digit digs. Stout recorded her NCAA-leading 19th triple-double of the season and 33rd of her career.
Southern Miss (9-20) was led by Aysu Dalogullari and Sadie McAda with a team-high 12 kills each, while Torrey Tkach, Abryanna, and Izzy Kronenberg tallied 11 and seven spikes, respectively. Franky Panunzio finished with a match-high 25 helpers and Hayden Riddle added 19 assists.
The Golden Eagles stopped seven Chanticleer kill attempts with Tkach and McAda making five and four stops, while Madison Baldridge and Panunzio had two blocks. Kronenberg (15), Sunni Sheppard (12), McAda (12), and Kaylee Lowther (10) combined for 49 of the USM's 64 digs.
In the first set, the Chants opened an 8-4 lead, highlighted by kills by Van Elslande, Fowler, and Lesiak. However, the Golden Eagles responded with a 6-2 run to even the score at 10-10 before the Chanticleers answered with a 7-2 burst to take a 17-12 lead sparked by a USM service error and capped by a pair of service aces by Fowler.
After a Southern Miss kill, Coastal scored three straight to lead 20-13, which included two kills by Malone. USM scored six straight to cut the deficit to 20-19 before the Chants claimed the opening set with a 5-2 spurt to win 25-21.
With a 1-0 match lead, the Chanticleers opened with a 7-5 lead to begin the second set, ignited by an attack error by the Golden Eagles and capped by a Malone spike. USM doubled the Chants 6-3 for an 11-10 advantage before the two teams traded the next 10 rallies with Southern Miss maintaining a slim lead at 16-15. Coastal answered with a 7-2 run to take a 22-18 lead, which included two kills by Fowler. The final six points went back and forth between the two squads with CCU winning the second set 25-21 and a 2-0 match lead.
In the third set, the Golden Eagles raced to a 9-4 lead before a USM service error sparked a 5-3 surge to narrow the Chanticleer deficit to 12-9, which included a Stout service ace. Coastal Carolina cut the Southern Miss lead to one at 16-15 with a 6-4 run, ignited by a Fowler kill and capped by a Van Elslande spike. The Golden Eagles outscored the Chants 9-5 to win the third set 25-20 and cut the match lead to 2-1.
In the fourth and final set, a 10-4 burst by Coastal to open the fourth set was highlighted by three kills by Stout. The next five rallies went back and forth with Southern Miss trailing 12-7 before a 6-2 spurt sparked by a USM service error and capped by a kill by Stout to increase the lead to 17-8.
After a 3-0 Golden Eagle run, Coastal answered with a 4-0 run to lead 21-11, which included kills by Fowler, Van Elslande, and Lesiak. CCU outscored Southern Miss 4-3 to win the match 3-1 with the 25-14 fourth-set victory.
Coastal Carolina will meet Arkansas State on Friday, Nov. 22, at 5:30 p.m. ET in the quarterfinal round of the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship in Foley, Ala., at the Foley Event Complex. The match will be streaming on ESPN+.
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.
