FLORENCE, Ala. (October 16, 2026) – The University of North Alabama volleyball team won in dramatic fashion Friday night, coming back from a 13-7 deficit in the fifth set to defeat the Austin Peay Governors 3-2 at CB&S Bank Arena.
The Lions improved to 16-5 overall and 6-2 in the UAC and remained undefeated at CB&S Bank Arena with an 8-0 record at home. This marks the second straight night with a five-set win for UNA after doing the same against UT Arlington on Thursday.
As she has virtually all season, junior Reese Ricketts led the offense tonight with 18 kills, nine coming from the final frame. Junior Dylann Garner helped the offense, as well, recording 16 kills and hitting .250.
Freshman Anna Hoffmayer set a new season high tonight, reaching 13 kills with all of them coming from the first three sets. She continues to have one of the best hitting percentages in the conference, hitting .433 tonight. Senior Phoebe Reyes Fortunato also helped offensively, recording 12 kills.
Junior Kinslee McGowan earned her 11th double-double of the season, leading the offense with 51 assists and recording 21 digs to also lead the team in the dig category.
Sophomore Ally Greenwell set a new career high, recording 19 digs. Freshman Kaylee Maikranz added 11 digs, while junior Lankford Gurner added 10.
The Lions had 64 kills, 58 assists, four service aces, 73 digs and eight total blocks.
SET ONE: UNA 25, APSU 22
North Alabama came out strong in the opening set, battling through early ties before taking control late. The Lions broke away from a 15-15 tie by going on a 3-0 lead, including an ace from Maikranz and kill from Garner. UNA continued to maintain their lead, including three kills from Hoffmayer late in the set. The Lions closed out the set 25-22 after a kill from Reyes Fortunato.
SET TWO: UNA 25, APSU 22
The Lions carried their momentum into the second set, earning an identical 25-22 second set win. UNA responded to early ties by going on a 3-0 run to gain a 15-11 lead. The Governors responded as well, going on their own 4-0 run to go up by one. The lead continued to change, but UNA eventually found a 24-19 lead. The Governors tried to get back in it, but a kill from Hoffmayer secured a second set win.
SET THREE: APSU 27, UNA 25
Austin Peay responded in the third set, putting the Lions in a back-and-forth battle. After a 13-13 tie, UNA went on a 4-0 run to gain separation and hold the lead until a 21-21 tie. This set saw four more ties after that, before Austin Peay closed the set 27-25 in extended play.
SET FOUR: APSU 25, UNA 21
The fourth set saw an early Austin Peay lead, jumping ahead 13-5. The Lions battled throughout the whole set, cutting the lead down to 20-17 following a 5-0 run. Austin Peay held on, however, forcing a deciding fifth set.
SET FIVE: UNA 16, APSU 14
Here came chaos. Austin Peay came out firing in the final set, jumping to an early 6-1 lead. The Governors maintained this lead, gaining a 10-3 gap, followed by a 13-7 gap. With the match on the line and Austin Peay just needing two more points to win, North Alabama did not let it slip away. After Austin Peay went up 13-7, Ricketts was responsible for all nine of the rest of the points UNA scored, including seven kills and two block assists. Sophomore Jenna Kolosta was the other blocker on both points. Ricketts totaled nine kills in the short fifth set — half of her total on the night.
UP NEXT
North Alabama catches a five-day break before playing Abilene Christian on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. in Abilene, Texas at Moody Coliseum.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
