LIONS OPEN ASUN BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOURNEY WITH TWO WINS

HUNTSVILLE – A 4-1 win over Jacksonville State and a 3-2 win over Central Arkansas gave the University of North Alabama an undefeated start to the 2022 ASUN Conference Beach Volleyball Tournament Friday at Huntsville's John Hunt Park. UNA (15-12) will play North Florida and Jacksonville on Saturday to continue pool play.

After knocking off JSU earlier in the day, UNA rallied to beat Central Arkansas. Facing a 2-1 overall deficit, the Lions got a kill by Lauren Quigley to cap a three-set victory at the No. 5 position. Seconds later at the No. 2 spot, a UCA swing went long on match point to give Catie Ladner and Mackenzie Martin a win in straight sets to clinch the match.

North Alabama took an early lead over the Bears when Martha McLaurin and Katy Floyd swept the No. 4 spot 21-18, 21-18. UCA, however, responded with two straight wins to grab the lead.

Straight-sets wins at the No. 3 and No. 1 positions gave the Bears the late lead.

At No. 5, Quigley and Katie Gerig won the opening set 21-15 before the UCA duo evened the score with a 21-13 win to force a third set. Meanwhile, Ladner and Martin grabbed the early lead with a 21-15 win at No. 2.

UNA evened the overall score with a 15-10 victory at No. 5 before taking the match at No. 2 with a 21-14 win.

Against JSU, the Lions scored the first three points to secure the win early. Quigley and Gerig gave UNA the early lead with a 23-21, 21-16 win at the No. 5 position. The duo rallied to win the opening set after facing a 19-17 deficit.

Ladner and Martin made the score 2-0 with a 22-20, 21-11 victory at No. 2.

A three-set victory clinched the match for UNA. After splitting the first two sets by identical 21-17 scores, McLaurin and Floyd notched a 16-14 win at the No. 4 spot to wrap up the overall victory for the Lions.

JSU recorded its lone point with a won at the top position before

At the No. 3 spot, Taylor Seney and Allison Temple wrapped up the scoring with another three-set win. After falling 21-19 in the opening set, the duo stayed alive with a 27-25 win that included fighting off four match points. They then won 15-8 to finish out the match.

UNA will play North Florida at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday before a 2:30 matchup against Jacksonville. The Lions will close pool play on Sunday with a 10 a.m. match against top seed FGCU. The top four teams from each pool advance to single-elimination bracket play, which begins on Monday.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Catie Ladner: 5' 8"; Sophomore

#5 Mackenzie Martin: 5' 10"; Freshman

#2 Taylor Seney: 6' 0"; Freshman

#3 Allison Temple: 5' 7"; Freshman

#10 Lauren Quigley: 5' 9"; Freshman

#22 Marti McLaurin: 5' 7"; Sophomore

#23 Katy Floyd: 6' 0"; Freshman

#1 Katie Gerig: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#13 Catie Ladner
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

#5 Mackenzie Martin
: 5' 10"; Freshman

#2 Taylor Seney
: 6' 0"; Freshman

#3 Allison Temple
: 5' 7"; Freshman

#10 Lauren Quigley
: 5' 9"; Freshman

#22 Marti McLaurin
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

#23 Katy Floyd
: 6' 0"; Freshman

#1 Katie Gerig
: 5' 6"; Sophomore