Championship Central
FOLEY, Ala. – A pair of East Division teams in Coastal Carolina and Georgia State were victorious on the opening day of the 2024 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship at the Foley Event Center.
(5E) Georgia State outlasted (4W) Troy in the opener in five sets as (4E) Coastal Carolina defeated (5W) Southern Miss in the First Round. The Quarterfinals are finalized and will begin on Friday, November 22 at 11 a.m. CT with (2W) Texas State facing (3E) James Madison.
(5E) Georgia State 3, (4W) Troy 2 |
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Georgia State (17-12) used 15 total blocks to defeat Troy in five sets. The Panthers responded in sets two and three before the Trojans forced a fifth set.
Troy (13-14) won the first set 27-25 and answered 25-16 in the fourth set to force the fifth. The Panthers trailed 12-11 in the final set and ended the match on a 4-1 run to advance to the Quarterfinals. In a match of scoring runs, Georgia State won the second set with a 9-1 streak that carried into the fourth set for a 25-23 win.
The Trojans totaled 66 kills with 28 coming from the arm of Sun Belt Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year Tori Hester. The total marked her 49th consecutive match with double digit kills as she added 17 digs for the double double. The Trojans also set a new Sun Belt Tournament Record for a five set match with 13 service aces as a team. The previous record of 12 was set by Denver in 2003.
Kalina Valvillo added 17 kills for Troy as Jaci Mesa totaled a team-high 19 digs. Janelle Stuempfig added a match-high 52 assists with eight digs and a pair of blocks.
Georgia State had four individual players tally double digit kills, as Peyton Gash led the way with 15. The three remaining Panthers all tallied double doubles. Alessia Cappai totaled 12 kills with 10 digs and five blocks with Keionna Mackey adding 11 kills with 10 digs and a block. Myllena Torquetti totaled 10 kills with 10 blocks and eight digs.
Libero Kaleigh Fitzgerald finished with 24 digs as Shanelle Martinez finished with 29 assists. Fellow setter Patrycja Zielinska added 23 assists with seven digs and a pair of service aces.
Georgia State will face the top seed from the East Division in App State at 1:30 p.m.
(4E) Coastal Carolina 3, (5W) Southern Miss 1 |
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Coastal Carolina (13-16) was led by sophomore Jalyn Stout, who tallied her NCAA Record 19th triple double of the season, and her third straight at the Sun Belt Tournament. The Chanticleers defeated the Golden Eagles from Southern Miss 3-1. Stout finished with 20 kills, 22 assists, 14 digs and two blocks.
Coastal Carolina led early and often in the first two sets, as the Chanticleers won 25-21, 25-21. Southern Miss (9-20) responded in the third set with a 25-20 win with a match-high 16 kills and a .349 hitting percentage. Coastal Carolina finished out the match in the fourth set behind a .577 hitting percentage to win 25-14.
Southern Miss had three players earn double digit kills as Aysu Dalogullari totaled 12. Sadie McAda added 12 of her own with 12 digs for the double double. Torrey Tkach added a team-high five blocks with 11 kills. Izzy Kronenberg picked up a team-high 15 digs as Franky Panunzio totaled 25 assists.
For the Chanticleers, Ava Wallis added 23 assists and seven digs with Libero Sydney Lewis tallying 21.
Coastal Carolina returns to the quarterfinals where they will face the top seed from the West Division in Arkansas State at 4:30 p.m.