Clevelan, Tenn. - The College of Coastal Georgia women's volleyball team came away with a split on Friday as it opened play in the Lee Invitational.

The Mariners lost their opening match at nearby Bryan College, following in three sets by scores of 16-25, 23-25, 23-25. However, the Mariners rebounded with an afternoon victory over Indiana Tech, rolling to a 3-0 victory by scores of 25-22, 25-20, 25-17.

In the opening match, Amanda Kline and Allie Shannon led Coastal Georgia with eight kills each while Cayley Meiners finished with 18 assists and 12 digs.

"I thought we came out flat and never really recovered from it," said Coastal Georgia coach Jeff Huebner. "Our kids had such a great weekend last weekend, and I think we assumed that it would happen for us, and we had forgotten what a true road match was like. Once we settled in we played Bryan tight. They are a good program that won its conference last year and went to nationals and is receiving votes in the poll, but I believe we should have won."

The Mariners came back strong, however, against Indiana Tech. They came back from a 9-4 deficit and also a 17-14 hole to take the first set before also going on to take the next two sets. Kara Neisen was stellar attacking, finishing with 15 kills while also recording three aces and totaling five digs. Holly Hammer posted 10 kills and three blocks while Allie Shannon added seven kills and five blocks. Meiners notched 22 assists while Maggie Bee added 18. Alyssa Keeve and Kansas Robinson both had 12 digs. Robinson also served for 16 points.

"We played really well," Huebner said. "Kara Neisen led the whole way. She can really be the star of our conference if she approaches the match with a demand-the-ball mentality."

Now 7-3 for the season, Coastal Georgia will play Bethel (Ind.) and host Lee on Saturday. Bethel defeated Lee on Friday, but both teams will be formidable opponents for Coastal Georgia, according to Huebner. Lee, of course, is now playing in NCAA Division II after competing with Coastal Georgia in the Southern States Athletic Conference.