NASHVILLE, Tenn. (October 10, 2024) – The University of North Alabama volleyball team takes its talents on the road this weekend, beginning a four-match roadtrip at Lipscomb and Austin Peay starting Friday.
The Lions begin the roadtrip in Tennessee, looking to extend their five-match win streak against the Bisons and Governors. North Alabama extended the streak against EKU and Bellarmine last time out, and they'll look to go for another 2-0 weekend in Atlantic Sun Conference action.
UNA will play at Lipscomb on Friday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m., followed by a trip to Austin Peay on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 4 p.m.
The match against Lipscomb will be played at Allen Arena, while UNA's match against Austin Peay will be in the Winfield Dunn Center. Tickets are also available for purchase against the Bisons, with the match against the Govs free of charge to all spectators.
Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats will be provided through Statbroadcast at Lipscomb and SIDEARM at Austin Peay.
Full results and a recap will be posted on RoarLions.com following the action, but fans can also follow along in real time on the UNA Volleyball social media pages.
MATCH 1
North Alabama at Lipscomb
Friday, Oct. 11, 2024
6 p.m.
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets | Twitter
MATCH 2
North Alabama at Austin Peay
Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024
4 p.m.
Watch | Live Stats | Twitter
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: The Lions went 2-0 on the weekend last time out, taking home wins against EKU and Bellarmine in CB&S Bank Arena. UNA stayed hot to win its fourth and fifth-straight match, defeating both the Colonels and Knights in 3-1 victories.
REESE WITH THE TRIFECTA: True freshman Reese Ricketts continues to put on a phenomenal freshman campaign, with the Harrison, Ark. native picking up her third ASUN Freshman of the Week honor this season. Ricketts now moves into a tie for the most ASUN Freshman of the Year honors in Division I program history.
A TEAM EFFORT: North Alabama is in the top three of four statistical categories as a team, ranking among the best ASUN teams in opponent service aces, opponent hitting percentage, opponent blocks and digs. The Lions lead the conference in opponent service aces (1.03 per set), while second in digs (16.81 per set), opponent hitting percentage (.178 per set) and opponent blocks (1.85 per set).
LEADERBOARD LIONS: Four individual Lions are also ranked in the top-10 of the ASUN in respective categories. Ricketts is sixth in kills with 223 kills and a 3.54 kill/set average and seventh in points, averaging 3.90 a set. Ricketts also has the fourth-most kills among the top 10. Fellow freshman Audrey Small is fifth in the ASUN in digs, registering a 4.54 digs/set average with her 286 digs third among the top 10. Small's totals also rank her in the top 50 nationally, with the freshman 29th in the nation. Senior Elif Ozsoy is eighth in the conference with 462 assists and a 7.33 set average, while sophomore Nicole Sargent rounds out the leaderboard with 58 blocks and a .92 blocks/average – good for 9th in the ASUN.
AMONG THE BEST: North Alabama's backline defense has been among the best in the country, with the Lions ranking among the top 20 in the NCAA in digs. As of Oct. 10, the Lions are 16th in the nation in digs, with 1,059 on the season.
MILESTONE WATCH: North Alabama has several players that have either surpassed career marks or approaching them this season. Ozsoy surpassed the 1,000-dig mark against UT Martin on Sept. 6, with the senior now on pace for over 1,500 digs for her career. Graduate Jasmine Brooks and senior Brenna Tietz are approaching 500-kill career mark, totaling 437 and 431 kills, respectively. Brooks is also approaching 100 career blocks with 81 for her career, as well as Sargent with 87. Tietz secured her 100th block at UT Martin earlier this season.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: North Alabama stayed hot after defeating EKU and Bellarmine last time out, with the wins making UNA victorious in six of its last seven matches. The Lions hold a 348-324 advantage in kills during the run, and North Alabama's offense has been more efficient with opponents committing 164 errors to 131 for North Alabama. The defense has also stepped up, with the Lions holding a 424-417 advantage in digs and 57-52.5 advantage in blocks.
SCOUTING LIPSCOMB: The Bisons enter the matchup at 7-8 overall with a 4-0 record in the ASUN. Lipscomb is on a four-match win streak, with the Bisons victorious against conference members EKU, Bellarmine, Austin Peay and Queens. Against Queens last time out on Oct. 5, they defeated the Royals in a 3-0 home sweep. Lipscomb leads the conference in opponent digs (13.05 per set) and is third in hitting percentage (.216), opponent assists (11.16), opponent kills (11.68) and service aces (1.86). The Bisons are led in points by Courtney Jones, who's 4.20 points per set average is second in the ASUN. The head coach is Brandon Rosenthal in his 22nd season.
SERIES HISTORY: North Alabama will be looking for its second win against the Lipscomb in the 15th all-time meeting between the two programs. The Bison won both contests in 2023, with the lone UNA win coming in Spring 2021.
SCOUTING AUSTIN PEAY: North Alabama concludes the weekend against the Governors, who enter with a 1-14 record on the season. Austin Peay will look to gain its first ASUN win this weekend, with the Governors also set to take on Central Arkansas prior to the match against UNA. One to watch for Austin Peay is Anna Rita, who's .309 hitting percentage is second in the ASUN Conference and .89 blocks per set is 10th. The Governors head coach is Taylor Mott.
SERIES HISTORY: The Lions and Governors will play their 10th all-time meeting on Saturday. UNA leads 6-3, with North Alabama taking 3-0 sweeps in both contests in 2023.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
