NASHVILLE, Tenn. (September 8, 2026) – The University of North Alabama volleyball team continued their momentum with a 3-0 sweep over Tennessee State on Tuesday night in Nashville, Tenn.
North Alabama starts the season off 8-0 after defeating unbeaten Tennessee State and is the first team to reach 8-0 in NCAA Division I this season. The Lions had their third-best hitting percentage of the season, hitting a solid .347 with 43 kills. They only allowed the Tigers (0-7) to hit negative .010 after with 24 attack errors and only 23 kills.
Sophomore setter Landri Ross made value of her season debut, recording 28 assists of the team's 43. She also had four kills, two block assists and a service ace.
Leading the way in the kill column was junior Dylann Garner, who recorded her second-best of the season with 13. She also had her second-best night in block assists with three. Senior Phoebe Reyes Fortunato was second on the team in kills with nine and hitting a precise .421 attack percentage.
Continuing to be the Lions' main blocker was freshman Anna Hoffmayer, who recorded five block assists tonight to tie her season high.
Senior libero Ava Martindale continues to lead the UAC in digs and digs per set after totaling 16 against Tennessee State tonight.
SET 1: UNA 25, TSU 12
North Alabama opened this set strong, with an immediate kill from Reyes Fortunato and a 5-0 lead. After going up 6-1, the Tigers gained a point from an attack error, but UNA kept moving to go on an explosive 7-0 run that included four kills. Two of those kills came from Garner while Reyes Fortunato and Hoffmayer had one each.
Tennessee State had a 3-0 run to mark their longest run of the set but was hit by a kill from Reyes Fortunato to extend UNA's lead to 20-10. The Lions ended this set with three straight points and Hoffmayer delivering the final kill.
SET 2: UNA 25, TSU 16
Tennessee State earned the first point of the second set and went up 2-1, but this was its only lead of the night. The Lions scored five in a row, including a kill from Garner, block assists from Garner and Hoffmayer and a service ace from Martindale.
Tennessee State would then get within two at 7-5, but Ross had a kill followed by an attack error from the Tigers. They got within two again at 11-9 but then recorded four errors. Reyes Fortunato had a kill to gain a more comfortable seven-point lead.
Back-to-back kills helped the Tigers get closer at 19-15, but kills from Ross and sophomore Jenna Kolosta helped the Lions gain a lead of five. After two attack errors from Tennessee State, a kill from Kolosta sent it to set point. The Tigers recorded another attack error for the Lions to secure a second set win.
SET 3: UNA 25, TSU 12
With a kill from senior Olivia Fenoff and Garner, the Lions started this set 2-0. North Alabama would then gain a lead of 8-2 with a kill each from Reyes Fortunato, Hoffmayer and Garner. Fenoff had back-to-back kills to give the Lions a 12-4 lead, both assisted by Ross. Ross followed her up with a kill of her own.
The Tigers had two kills in a row matched with two errors in a row to make it 15-6. This was followed by a kill from freshman Kennedy Bullins and a block from her and Fenoff to go up 17-7.
The Lions went on a 3-0 run to gain a huge 11 point lead. Fenoff closed the door on the Tigers with two kills in a row to end the match and total five kills tonight.
UP NEXT
North Alabama will continue its road stint at the Samford Invitational in Birmingham, Ala. on Friday, Sept. 11, where the Lions will face Samford at 6:30 p.m. UNA will cap off the invitational facing Jacksonville State Saturday, Sept. 12 at 5 p.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
