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FOLEY, Ala. – The semifinals are set at the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament. Coastal Carolina, South Alabama, UTA and Texas State all won their quarterfinal matchups on Friday at the Foley Event Center. 

Semifinal Saturday at the Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament begins at 4 p.m. CT with regular-season champion South Alabama taking on UTA. Texas State and Coastal Carolina meet at 6:30 p.m. CT. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

All tickets are general admission and are $10 per day for adults and $5 per day for children 12 and under. Students of Sun Belt Conference institutions can show a valid student ID to receive free admission. 

Match 5: (2W) UTA 3, (3E) Georgia Southern 2 (28-26, 25-22, 18-25, 18-25, 15-12)
Box Score | Photo Gallery

UTA jumped out to an early two-set lead and then held off a strong Georgia Southern team for a 3-2 (28-26, 25-22, 18-25, 18-25, 15-12) win on Friday. 

UTA (12-14) makes a return to the Sun Belt Tournament Semifinals, last playing in the semis in 2019. The Mavs will face Sun Belt regular-season champion South Alabama in Saturday’s first semifinal at 4 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

Brooke Townsend led the way offensively for UTA with 13 kills, while Briana Brown and Brianna Ford added 12 and 11, respectively. Setter Mollie Blank charted a double-double with 22 assists and 10 digs, while fellow setter Kylee Kapp dished out 23 assists. Alli Wells led the Mavs with 20 digs and Ford registered four blocks. 

UTA hit .228 for the match, while Georgia Southern hit .197. The Eagles led the battle of the blocks, 11-9. Both teams totaled 61 digs. 

Georgia Southern (17-11) was led by a career-high 19 kills from Baylor Bumford. Setter Madison Brown matched her career-high with 54 assists which pushed her past the 3,000 career assist mark for her career – finishing with 3,005, which ranks fifth all-time in Georgia Southern school history. 

Match 6: (1E) South Alabama 3, (5E) Georgia State 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-19)
Box Score | Photo Gallery

South Alabama, the 2021 Sun Belt regular-season champion, won its 11th consecutive match in defeating Georgia State, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-19), on Friday. 

The Jaguars (23-6) will meet UTA, the second-seeded team from the West, in Saturday’s first semifinal at 4 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

South Alabama setter Kailey Keeble charted her 17th double-double of the season with 29 assists and 11 digs. Hannah Maddux and Carissa Bradford finished with eight kills apiece for the Jaguars. Kennedy Wallace registered a career-high six total blocks. 

South Alabama hit .220 in the match, while limiting Georgia State to just .072 hitting. The Jaguars out-blocked the Panthers 9-4, while Georgia State held a 61-55 advantage in digs. 

Georgia State (8-20) was led by Leah Wilcox’s eight kills, while Ava Vlkovic tallied 23 digs, marking her eighth match with 20 or more digs this season. 

Match 7: (2E) Coastal Carolina 3, (3W) Louisiana 0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-20)
Box Score | Photo Gallery

Coastal Carolina hit .382 and was led by Cheyenne Jones’ 11 kills as the Chanticleers swept Louisiana, 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-20) on Friday. 

Coastal Carolina (19-8) advances to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Semifinals to take on Texas State, the top seed from the West. The two teams will meet in Saturday’s second semifinal, slated for a 6:30 p.m. CT start. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+. The Chanticleers will compete in the Sun Belt Tournament Semifinals for the third consecutive year and the fifth time in six years. 

Jones’ 11 kills came on a .611 attack percentage with no errors. In the course of the match, Jones reached 1,000 career kills, the majority of which came during her four seasons at UTEP. Doris Carter added 10 kills on .318 hitting, while Ani Bozdeva had nine kills. Coastal Carolina setters Brigitta Petrenko and Marija Borcic combined for 36 assists in the match and Petrenko had a team-high eight digs. 

Both teams hit well offensively with Coastal Carolina boasting a .382 hitting percentage and Louisiana hitting .231. The Chanticleers had five blocks to the Ragin Cajuns’ three. Louisiana led the match in digs 37-30. 

Louisiana (15-11) was led by Coco Gillett’s match-high 14 kills while Kelsey Bennett came close to a double-double with eight kills and nine digs. 

Match 8: (1W) Texas State 3, (4E) Troy 0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-19)
Box Score | Photo Gallery

Texas State notched its 13th consecutive victory and head coach Sean Huiet earned his 50th career win as the Bobcats swept Troy, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-19) on Friday. 

The Bobcats (19-11), who have won three Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championships in a row, are set to meet Coastal Carolina, the second seed from the East, in Saturday’s second semifinal. That match is slated for a 6:30 p.m. CT start and it will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

Janell Fitzgerald led the way offensively for Texas State with 13 kills, which ran her streak of consecutive matches with double-digit kills to eight. She also led her team in blocks (7) and service aces (2) on Friday night. Setter Emily DeWalt dished out 33 assists, while Jada Gardner scooped nine digs. 

Texas State hit .393 in the match and limited Troy to .190 hitting. It marked the 11th time this season that the Bobcats’ defense has limited a foe from the Sun Belt Conference to a sub .200 hitting percentage. 

Troy (17-12) was led by 12 kills from Cheyenne Hayes, who on Friday became the all-time kills leader in program history. She increased her career total to 1,451 kills. Hayes also charted four service aces on Friday. 

2021 Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament (Foley, Ala.)

Thursday, November 18, 2021
Match 1 - (3E) Georgia Southern 3, (6W) ULM 1
Match 2 - (5E) Georgia State 3, (4W) Arkansas State 1
Match 3 - (3W) Louisiana 3, (6E) App State 0
Match 4 - (4E) Troy 3, (5W) Little Rock 1

Friday, November 19, 2021
Match 5 – (2W) UTA 3, (3E) Georgia Southern 2
Match 6 – (1E) South Alabama 3, (5E) Georgia State 0
Match 7 – (2E) Coastal Carolina 3, (3W) Louisiana 0
Match 8 – (1W) Texas State 3, (4E) Troy 0

Saturday, November 20, 2021
Match 9 – (1E) South Alabama vs. (2W) UTA – 4 p.m. CT
Match 10 – (1W) Texas State vs. (2E) Coastal Carolina – 6:30 p.m. CT

Sunday, November 21, 2021 (Championship)
Match 11 – Winner Match 9 vs. Winner Match 10 – 1 p.m. CT