LOUISVILLE, Ky. (November 15, 2025) – The University of North Alabama volleyball team clinched the seventh seed in the 2025 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship tournament after defeating Bellarmine in five sets to end the regular season Saturday night in Louisville.
The Lions (14-15, 8-8 ASUN) secured its seeding with the win along with a North Florida defeat to FGCU. UNA will face second-seeded Jacksonville in the tournament opener on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 3 p.m. CT.
North Alabama's eighth conference victory came in dramatic fashion as the Lions once again spoiled a Senior Night on the road. It was a battle between the two teams with both alternating set wins through the first four frames.
The Lions claimed the fifth set but not before Bellarmine (11-17, 5-11 ASUN) forced a win-by-two scenario with a late rally. Both continued to fight until a Reese Ricketts kill and block from Jenna Kolosta and Jolana Smidlova ended the night in Louisville.
UNA's win secured the season sweep over the Knights.
The dynamic duo of Ricketts and junior Kendall Barnes led the offensive charge for the Lions. Ricketts tallied 24 kills – finishing one short of tying her career high. Barnes followed with her second-highest kill total of the season at 22. Both Kolosta and Smidlova tied for third with four kills each.
Sophomore Kinslee McGowan was the match leader in assists and service aces with 50 and three, respectively. McGowan additionally hit a career milestone tallying her 1,500th career assist.
Three Lions finished with double-digit digs in junior Ava Martindale (19), freshman Ally Greenwell (13) and junior Olivia Fenoff (10). Ricketts set a career mark with eight digs, securing over 500 for her career.
Sophomore Amelia Keating (5), Smidlova (4) and Kolosta (3) rounded out UNA's leaders in blocks on the night.
UNA came out strong in set one using efficient and nearly flawless offense. The Lions totaled 16 kills to just one error while adding three service aces to their tally. The frame was up for grabs until the 15-15 mark when North Alabama ended the set with a 10-1 run to win 25-16.
The Knights' offense responded in set two to tie the scoreline at 1-1. Just like UNA in set one, Bellarmine totaled 16 kills in the second to win the frame, 25-21.
An opening 5-0 UNA run set the tone for a 25-17 third-frame victory. The Lions never trailed and held the Knights to a .107 hitting percentage – their lowest of the five sets. North Alabama had another strong serving set with four aces from Martindale (2), Greenwell (1) and McGowan (1) all finding their targets. Barnes also was the offensive spark plug with six kills on .667 percent hitting.
Bellarmine answered right back in the fourth with a narrow 25-23 victory to send it the fifth. The Knights led for majority of the frame until the Lions took their first lead at the 18-17 mark. UNA led late, 21-19, when Bellarmine's 6-2 run sent the match to the final period.
The Lions struck first in set five with a 6-2 advantage. UNA continued to hold momentum as they built a 14-10 lead for match point. The Knights stormed back with four-straight points to force the match to be won by two.
The teams alternated the next six points until Ricketts, Kolosta and Smidlova won the match in the next two possessions. Ricketts' 24th kill made the match 18-17, and the next possession saw Kolosta and Smidlova secure the game-sealing block enroute to a 19-17 set victory.
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