VOLLEYBALL FALLS IN QUARTERFINALS TO COASTAL CAROLINA, 3-1

BOX SCORE BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Coastal Carolina had three players put away double-figure kills en route to dispatching the Radford volleyball team, 3-1, Thursday night in a quarterfinal match of the Big South Tournament hosted by Gardner-Webb inside Paul Porter Arena.

Emily Carlin knocked down a team-best 15 kills to pace the Highlanders (16-16), offensively. Jena Braden dished out 34 assists, while Katelyn Meeks led the defensive efforts with a match-high 16 digs. Meeks concludes her career with 1,506 digs, which ranks first all-time in program history (rally scoring era).

Gabriella Horvath sent down a match-high 17 kills, followed by Meghan Laffin (12) and Eszter Nagy (10) to lead the Chanticleers' attack. Along with putting up a match-high 44 assists, Lauren Alejo anchored the Coastal Carolina (13-13) backline with 12 digs.

Both teams battled back-and-forth early in the first frame before CCU mounted a run. With the score 10-9 in favor of the Chanticleers, Radford was outscored 6-1 to give its opponent a 16-10 advantage. The Highlanders' deficit was too much to overcome as Coastal won the first set, 25-16.

The second stanza was much like the first with neither team creating separation. Tied at 22, Radford made a set-winning push started by a Carlin rocket. On the next point, Kindra Bailey went up for an attack but Rachel Wiechecki was there to reject the attempt for a 24-22 edge. With Carlin back to serve for set point, her liner set-up a Horvath attack error that gave the Highlanders the 25-22 victory in the frame.

The Chanticleers raced out to a 5-0 lead in the third set behind the serving of Nagy. RU cut its disadvantage to 6-4, but Coastal responded with a 5-0 surge to push ahead, 11-4. Despite a late rally by the Highlanders, the Chants' relentless offensive prowess won the third set, 25-18.

Trailing 11-5 in the fourth frame, Radford rallied to within 12-10 after a ball handling error by CCU. On the next point, Katie Martin put down a blast to spark a 7-0 run for the Chanticleers to give them a 19-10 advantage. The surge proved to be enough as Coastal went on to claim the set, 25-17.

Despite falling in the quarterfinals, the future is bright for the Highlanders as 15 players are eligible to return for Radford next season.

Print Friendly Version