McKenzie, Tenn. – The College of Coastal Georgia women's volleyball team won on the road for the second time this week when it downed Bethel 3-1 on Friday night here in a Southern States Athletic Conference matchup.
On Tuesday, the No. 23-ranked Mariners (23-1 overall, 15-0 SSAC) won 3-0 at Brewton-Parker to open up a week which includes three conference matches away from home. The Mariners will close out the week Saturday at Martin Methodist, a team they defeated 3-1 in the first match between the teams this season in Brunswick.
The Mariners had also already beaten Bethel (15-10, 8-5), winning the first of the two conference meetings between the schools by a 3-0 count at Howard Coffin Gym last month. In Friday's meeting, the Mariners took the opening two sets by 25-20 and 25-17 before the Wildcats stayed alive with a 25-22 win in the third set. Coastal Georgia put away the match by winning the fourth set 25-21.
"I am very proud of our kids," said Coastal Georgia coach Jeff Huebner. "Bethel is obviously a high-level team, and to go on the road in a very hostile environment and win with consistency and high-character is a great job."
The Mariners put together a balanced offensive attack in the victory as they hit .336 as a team with 58 kills and 13 errors in 134 total attacks. With Cayley Meiners notching 52 assists in the win, the Mariners got 16 kills from Rachel Amundson, 13 from Emma Anderson and 10 apiece from Allie Shannon and Kara Neisen. Also, Maddie Bounds had eight kills for the team in the win.
Defensively, the Mariners held Bethel to a .199 team hitting percentage as the Wildcats finished with 47 kills and 19 errors in 141 attempts. Jennifer Johnson led the Mariners with 31 digs. Kansas Robinson also finished in double-digits with 12.
As a team, the Mariners also recorded 10 total blocks with 16 block assists and two solos. Shannon was in on six blocks, Meiners and Neisen both contributed with four and Bounds totaled three.
Eloisa Sales led Bethel with 19 kills.
"Rachel was awesome and Cayley did a really good job of creating effectivenss in her team," Huebner said. "Kara, though, is the realy unsung hero with her serve receive and defense. She creats consistency every match."
