Montreat, N.C. - The College of Coastal Georgia women's volleyball team split a pair of matches on Friday as the Mariners opened their 2013 campaign in the Volley in the Mountains tournament being played at Montreat College.
The Mariners (1-1) lost their first match in three sets to Concordia (Neb.), but bounced back to win their second match later in the afternoon, defeating Northwood (Fla.) University in three sets.
In the opener, Coastal Georgia fell 19-25, 19-25, 23-25. It wasn't until the third set that head coach Jeff Huebner felt the Mariners performed as he had hoped they would from the start.
"We were a little bit star-struck when we came out," said Huebner, who started the Coastal Georgia program three years ago. "I thought the kids played OK. We were statistically average. It wasn't until the third set that we got into any sort of rhythm."
There were bright spots, though, he said. "I was very pleased with the way we serve received and played defense. Those are the kinds of things that will translate into championship seasons."
Sophomore Kara Neisen and freshman Alyssa Keeve led Coastal Georgia with nine kills each in the loss. Junior Holly Hammer posted three blocks while freshman setter Cayley Meiners led the team with nine assists. Freshman Allie Shannon had three aces and junior Kansas Robinson notched 14 digs.
The Mariners were the dominant team in the match against Northwood, winning 25-10, 25-16 and 25-10 for a three-set win. As a team, they hit .403 over the three sets. Neisen led the offense with 10 kills while Shannon followed with eight. Shannon also had two blocks.
Meiners totaled 14 assists for Coastal Georgia while Keeve served five aces and led the team with nine digs.
Coastal Georgia defeated Northwood in five sets on the road back in 2011 during its first season.
"We settled down and played good quality volleyball," Huebner noted. "We're looking forward to tomorrow."
The Mariners will be back in action Saturday as they round out their play in the tournament with two additional matches. They are set to face Mount Vernon Nazarene and Shawnee State, two teams that have combined for several NAIA national tournament appearances in recent seasons.
