CHANTICLEERS DENY VOLLEYBALL’S COMEBACK BID

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RADFORD, Va. – For the fourth straight match, the Radford volleyball team was forced to five sets, but Coastal Carolina was up to the challenge as the Chanticleers held on for the 3-2 (15-25, 25-17, 25-22, 26-28, 15-12) victory Friday night inside the Dedmon Center.

Rachel Wiechecki hammered a match-high 21 kills to accompany nine digs to lead the Highlanders (15-8, 4-2 Big South). It was the third time in the last four matches the junior broke the 20-kill plateau. Cheyanne James posted her fifth double-double of the season behind 13 kills and 13 digs.

Jena Braden (32) and Rachel Flores (15) combined for 47 assists, while Braden added 11 digs for her 14^th career double-double. Kelby Jackson chipped in 11 digs as well. Carson Widener and Emma Wroblicky both served up three aces.

Emma Deininger passed Melinda Clelland for second place in total blocks in program history with four tonight. The junior has 286 to her credit. Flores and Savannah Cantrell both rejected a team-best five attacks.

Kindra Bailey had 15 kills and a match-high eight blocks for the Chanticleers (11-8, 4-2 Big South). Coastal received two double-doubles from Gabriella Horvath (14 kills and 11 digs) and Lauren Alejo (45 assists and 13 digs). Lian Bernett unleashed 10 kills, while Alejo and Jenna Orner produced three aces apiece. Lindsay Gill registered a match-high 15 digs.

Behind six aces, Radford jumped to the 1-0 edge in the match. Widener delivered one of them to cap a 6-1 opening run in the first frame. After the Chants answered with back-to-back aces by Alejo to make the score 11-8, the Highlanders fired back with an 8-2 rally to establish a 19-10 favor. RU cruised from there as Jesse Miedema sent down the set-clincher for the 25-15 triumph.

After a James rocket pulled the Highlanders within 9-7 in the second stanza, Horvath answered with a blast to spark an 8-1 surge that gave Coastal a 17-8 advantage. RU remained resilient by dwindling its deficit to 20-15. However, the Chants scored five of the next seven points to prevail, 25-17.

Radford erased an early 8-5 edge for the visitors in the third set to tie it at 9 following a Wiechecki and Cantrell block. Neither team gained an advantage larger than one for the next several rallies. Trailing 19-18, Meghan Laffin engineered a 3-0 spurt that rewarded Coastal with a 21-19 lead. Deininger's dart a few rallies later cut the margin to 23-22, but Bailey secured the win for the Chants with back-to-back kills.

The Highlanders earned the equalizer they needed in the fourth set, which featured 18 ties and 10 lead changes. After falling behind (6-3) in the beginning stages, Coastal countered with a 4-1 rally to tie the game at 7. Like the previous set, the Chants were the first ones to create a slither of separation following a Laffin blast and a Horvath swat that made the score 19-17 in favor of the guests.

Still trailing by two, Cantrell catapulted a kill that ignited a 4-1 streak that gave RU the 23-22 edge. Despite Coastal winning the next two rallies to set up match point, Wiechecki obliterated a Braden pass to send a message that the Highlanders were not going down without a fight. After service errors from both sides kept the set tied at 25, Eszter Nagy struck a winner that earned Coastal's third match point.

With Alejo back to serve, the setter belted her attempt into the net to knot things at 26-all. After dodging three match points, Braden went back to the service line in an attempt to close the frame. She did. After Wiechecki ripped Braden's dime for a 27-26 lead, Cantrell came up with arguably the biggest block of her career en route to forcing a decisive fifth set.

Neither team created separation until Alejo was whistled for a handling error and Wiechecki turned away a Horvath attack for an 8-6 advantage. However, the Chants claimed the next three points to go ahead, 9-8. Radford responded with three of the next four points to regain the lead at 11-10. With the set tied at 12, Coastal reeled off the final three points, which included two aces, to seal the victory.

The Highlanders have to regroup quickly as they host Charleston Southern at 2 p.m. Saturday for their Dig Pink match in support of breast cancer awareness. Live stats and live video will be available.

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