CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (November 11, 2023) – North Alabama Volleyball ended the regular season in dominant fashion, taking a three-set victory from the Austin Peay Governors in Clarksville, Tenn. in the final Atlantic Sun Conference match of the season.
UNA ends the regular season with a 17-11 overall record and a 9-7 mark in Atlantic Sun Conference play. The victory locked North Alabama into the fifth spot for the upcoming ASUN Volleyball Championship next week, by virtue of the win and North Florida defeating Stetson this weekend.
Austin Peay moves to 11-18 overall and 4-12 in the ASUN to end the season.
The match began with a slow start from the Lions, with Austin Peay running off six-straight points to begin the first set. Settling in, North Alabama marched their way back from six down and took the first set, 25-23, setting the tone for UNA the rest of the way.
Down 9-3 in the first set, North Alabama responded with a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the set, fueled by a kill from Mattrice Harris and two aces from Katy Floyd. The Lions held a small advantage in the middle of the set, leading by as many as three. With UNA holding a 19-16 lead, Austin Peay worked their way back into the match with a 3-0 run to tie bring the score back even. The Governors continued to fight with both teams exchanging points, but Harris and junior Brenna Tietz's two kills gave the Lions a clutch two-point advantage. Leading 24-23, sophomore hitter Hayley Martin scored an emphatic kill to complete the comeback.
Both teams exchanged points to start set two, but at the 5-5-mark, freshman hitter Lexi Pendleton landed two aces to spark 3-0 run. UNA later had a 7-2 run leading to the media timeout, with Griggs, Floyd and freshman hitter Nicole Sargent registering a kill and senior setter Kennedey Johnson tallying an ace. Coming out of the timeout, a 4-1 run from the Lions extended the lead to 19-9, forcing a Governors timeout. UNA had 11 kills, three service aces and a .412 hitting percentage in the second frame, winning 25-14.
UNA started strong again in the third set, running off four-straight points off two Governor errors, a kill from Floyd and an ace from Johnson. UNA later led 15-12 at the final media timeout. The Governors continued to fight with hopes of an extended match, but the Lions continued to maintain their three-point lead into the last called timeout at 20-17. APSU scored twice to pull within one, but UNA went on a 5-0 run to end it with two kills from Anna Katherine Griggs and a second service ace from Johnson.
The three-set sweep cements a season sweep of the Govs, as North Alabama took the first match in a shutout on Sept. 22 in Florence.
Bulara, who achieved 1,000 digs yesterday, added 14 digs in tonight's win. Floyd and Griggs each had double-digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Griggs also continued her run of high percentage hitting, going 10-for-15 with just three errors for a .467 percentage. Johnson and Pendleton combined for 31 of the team's 36 assists.
The Lions out-hit Austin Peay by a wide margin of .338 to .184
UNA will turn its attention to the opening round of the ASUN Volleyball Championship in Fort Myers, Fla. next week, where the Lions will face No. 4 Kennesaw State on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
