CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team was swept 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-17) by the nationally-ranked No. 16 Tennessee Volunteers at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C., on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, the Chanticleers drop to 3-6 on the season, while the Volunteers improve to 5-2 overall.
Coastal was led by
Jalyn Stout and
Agata Lesiak, as the duo finished with eight and seven kills, respectively, while
Emily Fowler tallied six put-downs. Stout recorded 14 assists with newcomer
Ava Wallis tallying seven assists.
Defensively, CCU totaled three blocks as
Dilara Unal recorded three stops with Lesiak and
Lauren Malone stopping one kill attempt each at the net. Stout finished with a team-high 10 digs for a double-double, while
Sydney Lewis totaled six digs.
The Volunteers were led by Nina Cajic and Kenondreya Granberry as the duo tallied 17 and nine kills, respectively. Caroline Kerr finished with a match-high 33 assists along with six kills.
Tennessee stopped seven kill attempts with Emily Beeker making four stops and Paityn Chapman stopping three kill attempts, while Hayden Kubik had 10 digs.
In the opening set, the Lady Vols doubled up the Chants at 6-3 before CCU battled back to even the match at 8-8, highlighted by kills by Unal and Malone. Tennessee scored three straight points to take an 11-8 advantage before the Chanticleers answered with two quick points to cut the deficit to 11-10.
Coastal jumped in front 15-14 with a 5-3 spurt sparked by a Unal block and capped by a kill by Stout, only to see UT claim a 25-16 first-set win with an 11-1 run.
The Chanticleers opened the second set with an early 4-2 lead before the Lady Vols answered with a 4-2 run to even the set at 6-6. The two teams traded the next 16 rallies to keep the score deadlocked at 14-14 before Tennessee outscored the Chants 10-2 for a 24-16 advantage. Coastal scored two quick points only to see the Lady Vols get a Cajic kill for the 25-18 win to lead 2-0 in the match.
In the final set, Tennessee raced to an 8-2 lead before the Chants cut the deficit in half at 8-4, highlighted by a kill by Lesiak. UT increased its lead to 16-7 with an 8-3 run. The Lady Vols maintained their nine-point lead at 22-13 over the next 12 rallies before completing the sweep with the 25-17 third-set win.
Coastal Carolina will travel to Raleigh, N.C., to take on Virginia Commonwealth (9/21) and NC State (9/22) in the Summit Hospitality Group Open before kicking off Sun Belt Conference action. The opening serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on Saturday versus VCU and 1 p.m. ET on Sunday against the Wolfpack.
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.
