Brunswick, Ga. – The College of Coastal Georgia women's volleyball team made history Friday night winning its first match in the Southern States Athletic Conference with a victory over Brenau University at Howard Coffin Gym.
The Mariners, competing in the conference for the first time this season, lost their SSAC opener last Saturday at home to Southern Wesleyan, but cracked the win column in the league with their thrilling 3-2 victory over the Golden Tigers (10-4 overall, 2-2 SSAC).
It was also the first win by any Coastal Georgia team in the conference, and it was an impressive one for the Mariners (7-9, 1-1), said head coach Jeff Huebner.
"For us to beat that team for our first conference win, that's a great win," Huebner said. "Brenau is a good team. They're old and mature and have beaten some good teams, teams that are ranked and teams that have received votes in the rankings.
"To get a win in five sets, that's really great for us, as young as our girls are. I'm proud of them."
The Mariners actually had a commanding 2-0 lead in the match after claiming the opening two sets 25-23 and 25-16, but Brenau pushed the Mariners to five sets with 25-19 and 26-24 victories in the third and fourth sets to force the decisive fifth and final set.
Coastal Georgia led 22-18 in the fourth set and appeared on the brink of a four-set win. The Mariners were serving for match point with a 24-22 lead, but Brenau stayed alive by winning the final four points to push the match to a fifth set.
The Mariners took charge in the fifth, going ahead by 8-3, but again the Golden Tigers came back, pulling within two points several times in the set. The Mariners finally put them away on kills by Holly Hammer and MK White that earned Coastal Georgia two of the set's final three points which secured the victory.
The Mariners had several players post solid numbers in the victory. Junior Lindsay Herman had 17 kills and 18 digs to pace the Mariners in both areas. Freshman Kara Neisen totaled 12 kills to go with nine digs and four block assists.
Also for Coastal Georgia, freshman MK White played well with 10 kills and just three errors in 22 total attacks. She also recorded seven block assists.
Hammer finished with nine kills, 10 digs and 22 assists for the Mariners. Maggie Bee, who had been injured, returned to the court and led the Mariners with 26 assists. Kansas Robison recorded 17 digs in the win.
The victory was the second in a row for the Mariners and fourth in five matches at home this season. The Mariners will play for a third consecutive win and their second league win tomorrow when they host Truett-McConnell for a 2 p.m. match.
Friday night was 80s night at the match. The players wore brightly-colored head bands, socks and shoe strings to pay tribute to the decade.
Coastal Georgia students were encouraged to dress in their best 80s outfits and the best-dressed students won prizes from the Student Life office which organized the event as part of this year's Spirit Series on campus. Top songs from the 80s were played throughout the match over the PA system.
