Coastal Carolina opens its 11th season of Sun Belt Conference volleyball play by hosting Georgia Southern for a two-match series at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina. The opening match is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m., followed by the second contest Saturday at 2 p.m., with both games streaming live on ESPN+.
Coastal Carolina Conference Opener Dominance
The Chanticleers enter the weekend with a flawless 10-0 all-time record in Sun Belt Conference openers since joining the league in 2016. Coastal Carolina holds a 19-1 overall record on conference opening weekends, boasting 18 consecutive victories. The program has not lost on the first weekend of conference play since Sept. 25, 2016, against Arkansas State. Under the conference’s current scheduling format, the Chanticleers have swept their opening Sun Belt weekend matches in each of the previous four seasons, defeating Georgia State in 2022 and 2023, and Marshall in 2024 and 2025. This weekend marks the first time since 2019 that Coastal Carolina opens its conference slate against Georgia Southern.
Georgia Southern Enters Conway on Four-Match Win Streak
Georgia Southern travels to Conway with an 8-4 record. The Eagles opened their campaign with losses against Hawaii, San Diego, and Baylor before rebounding to win eight of their last nine matches. Chad Willis enters his eighth season as head coach of the Eagles, sitting at 109 victories in Statesboro as he chases Kerry Messersmith’s record of 116 wins. Offensively, Georgia Southern hits .273 while holding opponents to a .194 hitting percentage, averaging 13.89 kills, 15.45 digs, and 2.19 blocks per set. Reagan Barth leads the Eagles with 142 kills, averaging 3.84 per set, while Beka Pfefferkorn has contributed 135 kills on a .317 hitting clip. Alex Myers paces the team with a .422 hitting percentage alongside 87 kills, and Kayla Knowles anchors the defense with a team-high 49 blocks.
Historical Series and Non-Conference Review
Coastal Carolina holds a 27-5 advantage in the all-time series against Georgia Southern, including a 13-2 record on its home floor in Conway. While the Chanticleers have won seven of the last ten meetings, Georgia Southern claimed both matches in Statesboro last season, winning 3-1 and 3-0. The Chanticleers concluded their non-conference schedule with a 4-5 record, securing three victories away from the HTC Center. Eight of Coastal’s nine non-conference matches extended to at least four sets, including four five-set battles where the team went 2-2 with wins over Queens and Wofford alongside losses to UConn and NC State.
Stat Leaders and Roster Milestones
At the net, Coastal Carolina maintains an 86-71 edge in total blocks, averaging 2.21 blocks per set. Hatteras Welker leads the Chanticleers with 39 blocks, averaging 1.00 per set, supported by Natalie Hughes with 35 blocks and Amarah Johnson with 22. Welker enters the weekend efficient on the attack, having committed only two errors across 16 attempts during the Chanticleer Classic. Hughes, a San Diego State transfer, ranks second on the team with 81 kills and 100.5 points while hitting a career-best .280. Maryland transfer Jonna Spohn paces the back row with 159 digs, averaging 4.08 per set to rank fifth in the Sun Belt. Junior Anzley Rinard sits four kills shy of 500 for her career, totaling 298 kills in 139 sets at Coastal after recording 198 kills during her single season at Oral Roberts. Senior Anna Rita has posted a .406 hitting percentage across four matches since returning from the European Championships, bringing her career totals to 473 kills—needing 27 more to reach 500—and is 16 blocks shy of 350.
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