STATESBORO– Georgia Southern volleyball (13-4, 3-3 Sun Belt) played a marathon of five sets against Coastal Carolina (11-7, 6-0 SBC), but ultimately fell 3-2 as the Chanticleers remained undefeated in Sun Belt play.

"I'm really proud of the effort, especially after last night's game, we had a good battle mentality," head coach Chad Willis said. "Coastal is a solid team, but we've got to bounce back, and move on to the next. There's a lot of volleyball left to be played, and all this culminates in Foley."

Coastal controlled the majority of the first set, jumping out to a 14-5 lead that the Eagles couldn't overcome. The home team hit just .029 in the first set.

Georgia Southern bounced back with a strong performance of its own in the second frame, earning a 25-18 victory after beginning with a 7-1 run that featured a pair of Paige Powers aces. Reagan Barth had seven kills in the set.

The Eagles moved into the driver's seat after needing extra scores to decide set two, winning 26-24. The visitors had a 5-0 run to knot the score at 19, fighting until the final score.

The Chants didn't wilt despite falling down 15-13 in the fourth set, coming back and storming to a 25-21 win.

In the final stanza, GS dug itself into a 9-3 hole that it could not come back from. Coastal earned a hard-fought 3-2 win, hitting a strong .444.

Barth set a new career-high in kills (23) and attacks (70) in the loss. Ally Barnhart had seven total blocks, while Callaway Cason had 24 assists.

"Reagan's been playing pretty consistently all season long," Willis said. "She's playing at a really high level. She's got a high level of leadership on the court."

Georgia Southern will remain home for a two-game weekend with Marshall beginning on Friday.