CONWAY, S.C. – In its third contest in two days at the Myrtle Beach Comfort Suites Invitational, USC Upstate volleyball found "W"s in the second and fourth sets of a five set contest against host Coastal Carolina, but fell in the heartbreaker, 2-3, to the Chanticleers (20-25, 25-14, 19-25, 27-25, 11-15).  

Upstate (3-6) was paced by Kelsie Queen and Mindy Quimby who put away 18 and 17 kills respectively. Notably, Morgan Thomas tallied five solo block and Emily Sanders put up 47 assists and 19 digs. Also a force for the Spartans was Megan Healey who found 28 digs on the game.

Coastal Carolina (5-5) was led by Chelsy Kimes who found the floor on a game high 24 kills. Also for the Chanticleers was Ericka Lightsey with 15 kills and Meghan Laffin with 10 of her own. Kelsie Mauck put up 34 helpers for CCU while Lauren Alejo registered 26.

Following errors by the Chants and a kill by Queen, Upstate was on the right track; up 3-1 in the opening set.  CCU, however, not to be outdone on their home court, rallied back to take a six point lead, 18-12, and held on to the cushion to take the first set up five, 25-20.

It was Upstate once again who was up by two to begin the second set, 3-1, but this time the Spartans made good on their lead. Upstate combined kills by Queen, Harris and Quimby and capitalized on Chanticleer errors to lead with an eight point cushion, 20-13. It was smooth sailing through the remainder of the set for Upstate who found five of the six remaining points to take the second, 25-14.

A kill by CCU's Megan Bickford started out the third set and put the Chanticleers on track to lead the rest of the way as Kimes, Laffin and Sierra Livesay pushed a 20-15 offensive run. The Spartans were tough to battle back in order to come out ahead in the third and saw action from Queen and Thomas, but it wasn't enough to upend the Chanticleers who came out on top in the third, 25-19.

In a must-win fourth set for the Spartans, it was Thomas who got Upstate on the board 1-0 and Downey who extended the lead, 4-1, to get the "U" back on track. As Coastal Carolina tried to battle back and take the match in four, it was an entire Upstate team they faced as six Spartans found points to outlast the Chanticleers in the fourth set, 27-25

Looking to close out the tournament on their home court on a high note, Coastal Carolina opened up the fifth set on a 7-4 push and led the rest of the way. Upstate saw action from Queen and Quimby to stay alive deep in the set, 10-12, but could not upset the home team who took the fifth set and match, 15-11.

The "U" will return to competition on Tuesday when they face Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, N.C. The match between the Spartans and the Runnin' Bulldogs is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.