FLORENCE, Ala. (October 15, 2026) – The University of North Alabama volleyball team defeated UT Arlington in a five-set thriller Thursday night at CB&S Bank Arena, improving to 15-5 overall and 5-2 in UAC play.
Junior Reese Ricketts had a stellar night, leading the team with a career-high 32 kills. She also hit for .281, recorded three service aces and added two block assists, totaling 38.0 points. Senior Phoebe Reyes Fortunato also added 11 kills to the list, along with three blocks.
Junior Kinslee McGowan also led the offense, setting a new season-high of 56 assists while helping the Lions to 65 kills.
Freshman defensive specialist Kaylee Maikranz held down the defense in the libero spot, recording 24 digs to set a season high. She also had three assists and a service ace.
Junior Dylann Garner also added eight kills, while sophomore Jenna Kolosta recorded five blocks.
The Lions had 61 assists, five service aces, 70 digs and nine total team blocks.
SET ONE: UNA 25, UTA 23
The first set began close, including nine ties before the Lions went down 15-11 to the Mavericks. UNA rallied to tie the set 16-16 and eventually extended it to 21-17. Ricketts delivered multiple kills late in the set, including a kill to put UNA ahead 24-22 before the Lions closed it out 25-23.
SET TWO: UNA 25, UTA 23
North Alabama opened the match with back-to-back 25-23 victories. The second set was similar to the first, with the Lions using late pushes to take control. UNA reached their largest lead this set at 19-14, before UT Arlington cut to deficit to just one at 23-22. A service error by the Mavericks gave the Lions set point, and Ricketts finished the set with a kill, assisted by McGowan, to give the Lions a 2-0 set lead.
SET THREE: UTA 25, UNA 23
UT Arlington answered in the third set, overcoming an early UNA lead and building their own lead to 18-14. North Alabama battled back to cut it to 24-23, but the Mavericks earned the next point to take the third set.
SET FOUR: UTA 25, UNA 20
UT Arlington continued its momentum into the fourth set, building an early 6-3 lead and then a 13-9 lead. North Alabama answered the deficit by going on a 4-0 run to tie it at 13-13, including back-to-back kills from Ricketts. There were four more ties after this, the last one coming at 18-18, before the Mavericks closed this set 25-20. This was the only 25-point set that ended in more than a two-point margin, giving UTA momentum for the final frame.
SET FIVE: UNA 15, UTA 9
Despite dropping the previous two sets, North Alabama came out explosive in the final frame, taking control early and never looking back. UNA held the lead the entire fifth set. The Lions gained an early 7-3 lead after a kill from Garner and extended it to 13-9 following a kill from Ricketts, forcing a pair of timeouts from UTA. McGowan then found Ricketts again for a 14-9 advantage, followed by a UTA attack error to give UNA the 15-9 victory and 3-2 match win. Ricketts had six kills in this short final set, with four coming from the last seven total points.
UP NEXT
North Alabama will face Austin Peay tomorrow night at 6 p.m. at CB&S Bank Arena to conclude a two-game home stint.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
