FLORENCE, Ala. (October 30, 2024) – The University of North Alabama volleyball team earned a third-straight Atlantic Sun Conference win Wednesday night, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears, 3-2, in CB&S Bank Arena.
The Lions (14-10, 8-3 ASUN) met the Sugar Bears (12-10, 9-2) in the second meeting of the season, looking to even the series after a defeat in the conference opener on Sept. 20. In a battle between two of the top four teams in the ASUN, UNA got out to a slow start with Central Arkansas jumping out to an 2-0 lead.
The Lions responded with a crucial third-set win, using the momentum to fuel a strong defensive fourth set to send the match to a fifth set. North Alabama saved its best for last in the finale, using efficient attacking to secure the come-from-behind victory.
The Lions now move ahead of EKU into the top four of the ASUN standings, while Central Arkansas sits in second with just its second loss. UNA has five games remaining and is just two games back on league leader FGCU at 10-1.
It was all hands on deck in the big win, with players setting personal bests and school records all around.
Graduate Jasmine Brooks was the highlight of UNA's "Fright Night" game career-high 35 kills on a .457 hitting percentage. The Toney, Ala. native finished one kill shy of the all-time school record of 36 kills, set by Yana Ninova on Nov. 11, 2003. She is the first player to record 30 kills in a Division I match at UNA and is the first to reach that mark since Lexie Bradley in 2017 against UAH (34).
Freshman Kinslee McGowan had the best performance of her young career, tallying a career-high 55 assists to set a new Division I program record. McGowan also had a career-high five blocks on the evening, while freshman Audrey Small tied her career-high with a second-straight 30-dig match.
Joining Brooks among the kill leaders was freshman Reese Ricketts, who finished with 18 kills, Junior Hayley Martin secured eight to finish third. McGowan led all setters in assists, while Ricketts led with three service aces. McGowan contributed an additional ace, and freshman Lankford Gurner landed a crucial service ace for momentum in the fourth set.
Small led in digs, followed by senior Katy Floyd (12) and sophomore Olivia Fenoff (11), and sophomore Meredith Brown totaled a match-high six blocks to round out UNA's leaderboard. McGowan and freshman Autumn Holmes contributed five blocks, both career-high numbers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1: UCA 25, UNA 17
Central Arkansas started strong in the opening set, using its offense to take the early set lead. UCA secured 15 kills in the set, also taking advantage of a slow start from North Alabama. The teams went back and forth early, but the Sugar Bears were able to gain a 10-8 lead towards the midway point. UCA responded with an ensuing 9-2 run to take a 19-10 lead, seeing the set out with a 25-17 first-set victory.
SET 2: UCA 25, UNA 23
Both teams came to play in the second set, but it was the Sugar Bears that did just enough to take the competitive frame. North Alabama secured more kills (17-14) and hit for a higher attack percentage (.279 to .237), but the service line and net defense made the difference for UCA.
SET 3: UNA 26, UCA 24
The Lions answered in a crucial third set, using the power of their offense to win the frame and gain momentum in the match. UNA hit for .250 in the set but secured its highest kill tally in any set with 18. An inspired Brooks led the charge for the Lions with 10 kills, pacing UNA en route to holding off Central Arkansas in a win-by-two situation. The set proved competitive, with both teams tying the score 13 times with seven lead changes, but the Lions showed resiliency to take the set, 26-24.
SET 4: UNA 25, UCA 15
Defense was the name of the game in set four, with the Lions showing their might from the net to stimmy the UCA attack. North Alabama registered eight blocks in the frame, forcing UCA into a negative-.200 attack percentage. The biggest moment of the set came with UNA trailing 9-8, when a 7-0 Lion run was fueled by five blocks. The freshman tandem of Holmes and McGowan secured three straight to begin the run, followed by a UCA timeout. The pause in action had no effect on the Lions, going on another 3-0 run with blocks coming from Holmes and Ricketts. North Alabama also had a strong set from service with three aces, leading to a winner-take-all fifth set.
SET 5: UNA 15, UCA 8
In crunch time for the Lions, North Alabama was able to play its most efficient set to ride momentum and take the bout against Central Arkansas. UNA hit for a highly-efficient .667 attack percentage, also securing as many kills (8) as total points scored by the Sugar Bears. The Lions received additional contributions from the defense and service line, tallying three blocks and an ace in a strong set for UNA. Brooks added five kills to close in on the 2003 kills record, but fell just one short. The night from CB&S Bank Arena ended in a Lions' win, taking the set, 15-8, to complete the rally in Florence.
UP NEXT
North Alabama's next outing comes Nov. 3 against North Florida, facing the Ospreys at 1 p.m. from CB&S Bank Arena.
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