The Chanticleers will face Wake Forest, Georgia and East Tennessee State Aug. 27-18.
Aug. 26, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Bump, Set, Spike
Coastal Coastal Carolina travels to the Deacon Invitational Aug. 27-28 to face Wake Forest, Georgia and East Tennessee State and is the only team in the field who advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. The Chanticleers have faced tournament host, Wake Forest twice and beat the Demon Deacons 3-1 both times. This will mark the second time Coastal has played in a tournament at Wake Forest with the Chanticleers being named tournament champions at the first meeting in 1996.
This Week's Matches:
at the Deacon Invitational
-Friday, August 27 at Wake Forest, 7 p.m.
-Saturday, August 28 vs. Georgia, 10 a.m.
-Saturday, August 28 vs. East Tennessee St., 4:30 p.m.
The Opponents
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Tournament Host)
2009 Record: 11-20
2009 Conference Record: 9-11 (ACC)
Head Coach: Heather Kahl Holmes
Series Record: Coastal leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Coastal won 3-1 on Sept. 12, 2009
Notes: Returns six starters for the 2010 season... Senior Kelsey Jones enters the season ranked fourth in school history with 3,442 career assists and is just 161 digs away from becoming the eighth member of the Demon Deacons 1,000-dig club... Senior Kristen White ranks 12th in Wake Forest history with 762 kills... Senior Megan Thornberry is third in school history with 1,359 digs.
Georgia Bulldogs
2009 Record: 17-14
2009 Conference Record: 8-12 (SEC)
Head Coach: Joel McCartney
Series Record: Georgia leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Coastal lost 3-0 on Aug. 26, 2006
Notes: Returns all six starters and its libero... Senior Erika Clark led the offense last season with 346 kills... Valentina Gonzalez had 291 kills and led the 2009 team with 130 total blocks and 37 aces... Junior Kathleen Gates ran the offense, dishing out 1, 122 assists last season.
East Tennessee State Buccaneers
2009 Record: 11-18
2009 Conference Record: 9-11 (Atlantic Sun)
Head Coach: Lindsey Devine
Series Record: Tied at 2-2
Last Meeting: Coastal lost 3-0 on Sept. 16, 2006
Notes: Returns five starters for the 2010 season... Seniors Whitney Cogburn and Erin Ryan led the 2009 squad with 270 and 242 kills, respectively.
Familiar Names and Faces
Coastal Carolina returns 10 of 13 players from 2009. The veterans include seniors Megan Bickford, Chelsy Kimes, Amanda Russell, Kristin Cozzens and Becky Stowers, juniors Erika Lightsey, Kelsie Mauck and Simone Autry and sophomores Sierra Livesay and Samantha Palka.
Welcome, Freshmen!
Five freshmen join the Coastal Carolina's roster for the 2010 season. New to the team this year are Lindsay Gill, Lauren Alejo, Kindra Bailey, Meghan Laffin and Michelle Fowle.
Bauer Hires Two New Assistant Coaches
During the off season, head coach Kristen Bauer welcomed two new assistant coaches to the Coastal volleyball family. Tucker Short and Pavlina Steffkova both joined the staff for the 2010 season. Short comes to Coastal after being on staff of the prestigious TCA Volleyball Club in Southern California and prior to his time in California, Short served as assistant coach at University at Buffalo as the program's recruiting coordinator and setter coach. Steffkova joins the Chanticleer staff after being on staff at Alabama for two seasons and prior to Alabama, Steffkova served as both head and assistant coach at Birmingham-Southern.
Coastal First in Preseason Poll
In the Big South Conference Preseason Poll, Coastal Carolina was picked to finish first by the league's coaches. The Chanticleers collected 74 points and four first-place votes in the poll. Liberty was a close second with 71 points and two first-place votes.
Kimes Named Preseason Player of the Year
Chelsy Kimes was selected as the Big South Preseason Player of the Year. Kimes, a senior from Munster, Ind., was named the 2009 Big South Volleyball Championship MVP after guiding Coastal Carolina to its first Big South Championship since 1998. A 2009 All-Big South First Team honoree, she led her squad with 483 kills, averaging 3.72 kills per set. She also topped her squad with 38 aces. She posted 28 double-digit kill matches a season ago, including a string of 17-straight matches with more than 10 kills. Kimes also closed the season out tied for second-place in the League with 17 double-doubles.
Bickford Selected to Preseason All-Big South
Senior Megan Bickford joined teammate Chelsy Kimes on the Preseason All-Big South team. Bickford remains a consistent contributor and ranks fifth in the Big South in career hitting percentage and first in the Coastal Carolina record book. She also ranks fifth all-time in total blocks and fourth in assisted blocks.
It's A Long Road...
Coastal Carolina will start off the 2010 season playing its first seven matches on the road. The Chants will travel just over 1,100 miles round-trip on the road in its first two weekends. They start at the Deacon Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C., and then head to Blacksburg, Va. for the Hokie Invitational. The team returns home for its annual home tournament before finishing up tournament play at the Kennesaw State Owl Invitational in Kennesaw, Ga.
Crowned Champions!
The No. 4-seeded Chanticleers were crowned the 2009 Big South Tournament Champions after defeating No. 2 Liberty 3-1 in the Big South Tournament Championship match on Nov. 21, 2009. The last time the Chants won the Big south Tournament was in 1998, where they beat Liberty 3-1 and the last time a No. 4 seed won the tournament was in 1994 when Towson State defeated UNC Greensboro 3-0. Coastal earned the league's automatic big to the NCAA Tournament and fell to No. 10 Nebraska on Dec. 4, 2009. It was Coastal's third appearance ever in the event, having gone in 1996 and 1998, and the first under head coach Kristen Bauer.
On the Attack
Senior Chelsy Kimes hit double-digit kills in 28 matches, including 17 double-digit kill performances in a row and notched 17 double-doubles. Coastal Carolina went 13-4 in 2009 when Kimes had a double-double.
Chants play spoiler...Three Times
In both regular-season meetings with UNC Asheville during the 2009 season, the Chanticleers came up victorious. In the first meeting, the Chants snapped the Bulldogs seven-match win streak and handed them their first Big South loss of the season. In the second meeting, Coastal rallied back after dropping the first two sets to beat the Bulldogs in the Justice Center, snapping a three-match win streak. Both matches went to five sets and two of the three UNC Asheville regular season losses were to the Chants. In the third meeting at the 2009 Big South Tournament, Coastal took control early and beat the Bulldogs 3-0, knocking them out of the tournament.
Kimes Joins the 1000-Kill Club
Senior Chelsy Kimes reached the 1,000-kill mark last season and currently has 1,351 kills, ranking her third all-time at Coastal Carolina. Kimes recorded her 1,000th kill against Western Carolina on Sept. 19, 2009.
When In August
Under head coach Kristen Bauer, Coastal Carolina is 9-11 in the month of August. Of those eight wins, seven have come in tournament action.
Coming Up Next
The Chanticleers travel to Blacksburg, Va. for the Hokie Invitational on Sept. 3-4. Coastal will face tournament host Virginia Tech, Jacksonville State and Long Island.
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