ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop volleyball team lost in its conference opener Friday evening, falling in straight sets to the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

Winthrop fell to 4-11 overall and 0-1 in the Big South while Coastal improved to 9-4 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

After being even through the first 16 points of the opening set, Coastal used a 4-0 run to turn a 15-14 lead to a 19-14 advantage.  Winthrop was unable to put more than two points together in a row, dropping the set 25-21.

The Eagles got off to a strong start in the second set, grabbing an 8-4 edge.  Coastal Carolina then took control with a 5-1 run to tie the set at 9-9 that turned into a 15-6 run, giving the Chanticleers a 19-14 advantage.  Coastal took the second set 25-20.

Winthrop again got off to a strong start in the third set, taking a 10-2 lead and forcing Coastal to use both of its timeouts in the first 11 points.   The Chanticleers came storming back on an 11-1 run to take a 13-11 advantage.  The two sides battled back and forth for the next few points before the Chanticleers were able to pull away, taking the final five points for the 25-19 victory.

Lourdes Rosario led the Eagles with 12 kills while Brianna Gray and Nikki Drost each added eight kills.  Madilyn McCarty finished with 34 assists and Carlie Skelton led the team with 13 digs.

Winthrop will return to the Coliseum on Saturday at 4 p.m. to host the Charleston Southern Buccaneers.