CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team fell 3-1 (26-24, 18-25, 18-25, 18-25) to the nationally-ranked No. 16 Tennessee Volunteers at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C., on Saturday evening. With the loss, the Chanticleers drop to 3-5 on the season, while the Volunteers improved to 4-2 overall.
 
Coastal was led by Lauren Malone and Emily Fowler, as the duo finished with 13 and 12 kills, respectively, while Jalyn Stout tallied seven put-downs. Cagla Bengi (22) and Stout (17) combined for 39 of the Chants' 42 assists.
 
Defensively, CCU totaled four blocks as Dilara Unal totaled two stops with Valentina Varani, Agata Lesiak, Fowler, and Malone stopping one kill attempt each at the net. Sydney Lewis finished with a team-high 17 digs, as Stout recorded a double-double with 12 digs.
 
The Volunteers were led by Paityn Chapman with 12 kills, while Nina Cajic and Emily Beeker tallied 11 and seven kills, respectively. Caroline Kerr finished with a match-high 33 assists.
 
Tennessee stopped five kill attempts with Beeker making three stops and Chapman and Kerr tallied two blocks, while Hayden Kubik had 17 digs.
 
In the opening set, the Vols opened a 3-1 advantage before the Chanticleers battled back with a 3-0 run to take a 4-3 lead, highlighted by kills by Varani and Fowler. The two squads traded the next three points to keep the score even at 5-5 as the Chants scored six unanswered, ignited by a Malone kill and topped off by a Malone spike to lead 11-5.
 
An 8-2 spurt by Tennessee cut the CCU lead to 14-13 only to see Coastal increase its lead to 16-13 on a UT miscue and a kill by Fowler. The next 10 rallies saw the Chanticleers maintain the three-point advantage at 21-18 before the Volunteers evened the score at 23-23 with a 5-2 burst. Coastal Carolina claimed the first-set win at 26-24, including a pair of kills by Stout.
 
The second set saw the Lady Vols double up the hosts at 6-3 before they traded the next eight points with CCU to hold a 10-7 lead. Coastal answered with a 4-1 run to even the score at 11-11, highlighted by two Stout spikes. Tennessee responded with a 5-0 surge to lead 16-11 before the Chants answered with a 4-0 run to trail 16-15, sparked by a kill by Malone and capped by a UT miscue. The Volunteers outscored Coastal 9-3 to claim the second set at 25-18 to even the match at 1-1.
 
Tennessee raced to a 15-7 lead that forced the home-standing Chants to call both of its timeouts. A 7-4 burst by Coastal Carolina cut the Lady Vol lead to 19-14, highlighted by kills by Malone, Lesiak, and Stout. UT opened a 22-15 lead with a 3-1 spurt before Coastal closed to within 22-18, sparked by a Tennessee miscue and capped by a Malone kill. The Lady Vols scored the final three points to claim a 25-18 third-set victory to lead 2-1 in the match.
 
In the final set, Tennessee jumped to an 8-3 advantage before CCU battled back with three straight points that included a pair of kills by Malone. The two teams traded the next 12 rallies as Coastal continued to trail by two at 14-12. After a quick two points by the Volunteers, the Chants scored three unanswered, highlighted by kills by Emma Van Elslande and Malone to trail 16-15.
 
The Lady Vols outscored the Chanticleers 9-3 to win a third straight set 25-28 to end the match with a 3-1 match win.
 
Coastal Carolina will host the nationally-ranked No. 16 Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday, Sept. 15 for the contest of the homestand. The opening serve is scheduled for 1 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.