CONWAY, S.C. – Jalyn Stout and
Emily Fowler led the Coastal Carolina volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-23) sweep over former conference foe Gardner-Webb in the 2024 home opener at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C., on Thursday evening.
Coastal (3-4) saw Stout and Fowler finish with 15 and 11 kills, respectively, while
Agata Lesiak and
Dilara Unal tallied six spikes each.
Cagla Bengi (26) and Stout (15) combined for 41 of the Chants' 49 assists.
Defensively, CCU totaled four blocks as Unal totaled two stops with
Valentina Varani,
Emma Van Elslande, and
Lauren Malone stopping one kill attempt each at the net.
Sydney Lewis finished with a team-high 13 digs, as Stout recorded her fourth triple-double of the season and 18th of her career with 12 digs.
The Bulldogs (1-8) were led by Cayton White with 17 kills, while Isabel Sandstrum and Kayla Hawkins tallied seven and six kills, respectively. Sloane Rooney and Rebecca Siedenburg finished with 16 and 12 assists, respectively.
Gardner-Webb stopped one kill attempt with Kyla Davis making the stop, while Molly Littlefield had 16 digs.
The opening set saw the visitors jump out to the early 3-0 lead before Coastal used a 6-3 surge to even the set at 6-6, ignited by a miscue by the Bulldogs and capped off with a kill by Stout. After trading the next four points, the Chanticleers took their first lead on a service ace by Stout at 9-8.
The two squads traded the next 10 rallies with CCU taking a 15-12 lead, highlighted by Unal, Malone, and Fowler kills. Coastal maintained its three-point lead at 21-18 over the as both teams traded the next 12 points before claiming the first set win at 25-18 with a 4-0 run including a service ace by Bengi.
Coastal took a 5-2 lead in the second set, as Varani sparked a 5-1 run with her first kill of the match. The Bulldogs answered with a 12-7 run to take the lead at 13-12 before Coastal responded with a 6-1 burst, highlighted by three kills by Fowler and Lesiak to take an 18-14 lead. The two squads traded the next 11 points to cut the Chants' lead to 22-21 before Coastal closed out set two at 25-22 with a 3-1 spurt.
In the final set, the Chanticleers took a 6-4 lead sparked by a Fowler kill and topped by a
Siri Engstrom kill. The two teams traded the next nine rallies with Coastal maintaining its lead at 11-9. CCU increased its lead to 14-9 with a 3-0 run including a block by Van Elslande and Varani.
An 8-2 surge by the Bulldogs to take a 17-16 lead before the next seven rallies went back and forth between the two teams with Gardner-Webb taking a 21-19 advantage. Coastal answered with a 4-1 burst to push back in front at 23-22, ignited by a Bulldog miscue and topped off by a Stout kill. After a quick point by Gardner-Webb, CCU's Stout and Engstrom put down back-to-back kills for the 25-23 third-set win and 3-0 sweep.
Coastal Carolina will host the nationally-ranked No. 16 Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 14-15 for a pair of contests. The opening serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. and 1 p.m. ET, respectively.
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.
