As the leaves start to change, Coastal Carolina University (CCU) women’s volleyball kicks into high gear, preparing to embark on their Sun Belt Conference (SBC) title defense.
Coastal Carolina is coming off their 2023-2024 campaign that produced a new NCAA record including many team and individual accolades. This resulted in the Chanticleers’ first conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance since 2017.
With the opening of a new season, the Chanticleers find themselves with a rather large target on their backs as they wrap up their non-conference schedule and head into SBC play.
This off-season, the Chanticleers saw the return of almost the entire of last season’s roster, only losing a single player to the transfer portal. This includes the NCAA record holder for triple-doubles in a season Jalyn Stout.
As the season kicks off, the Chanticleers find themselves sitting at a 4-7 record with conference play just around the corner.
However, head coach Steve Loeswick doesn’t seem to mind the pressure.
“Each game is important and of course we are going to try to compete the best we can to win every game, but it is more about growth,” Loeswick said.
Loeswick is proud of how the character of both players and staff has contributed to keeping the team together.
“We lost one person to the transfer portal but kept everyone else. I think that says a lot about who they are as people but also our ability as a coaching staff to create relationships with the student athletes, so they know we care about them,” he said.
Despite the 4-7 record, the players and coaches are buzzing with excitement as Coastal Carolina heads into SBC play, looking to add some more hardware to the trophy case.
