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 UNA
DOWNS NORTH DAKOTA, FALLS TO NO. 8 ASHLAND
FLORENCE – For the second day in a
row, the University of North Alabama volleyball team split a pair of
matches at the UNA Classic, downing North Dakota 3-0 before falling
to eighth-ranked Ashland 3-1 Saturday at Flowers Hall.
Lions middle
blocker Whitney Sanders had a monster day for the Lions, totaling 47
kills with a .488 hitting percentage. The junior from Haleyville
added four blocks in the seven games.
Against North
Dakota, senior Danielle Palasak tied a career high with 22 kills
during the 34-32, 30-26, 30-28 victory. Sanders was close behind,
getting 19 kills with a .548 hitting percentage.
All three
contests against the Norse proved to be close calls for UNA, which
rebounded from a 3-2 loss to Northern Kentucky the previous night.
The Lions got kills from six different players and racked up five
service aces.
Offensively,
Alison Jacobs turned in 52 assists, while the Lions got 63 kills as
a team and hit .314 for the match. Jessica Hansen also recorded 23
digs in the three games.
In the
nightcap, UNA rebounded from a 30-27 loss in the first game to post
a 30-28 win of its own to tie the match. Ashland, however, responded
by winning the next two games 30-23 and 30-18 to avenge its 3-0 loss
to the Lions in last year’s NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
Sanders had 28
kills for the match, with most of the assists coming from Jacobs,
who notched a career-high 55 assists.
Defensively,
Hansen (right) was one of three UNA players to get double digits
in digs.
The junior from
Council Bluffs, Iowa had 26 for the match while Palasak and Katie
Haseltine picked up 15 and 11 respectively.
UNA will take
its 2-2 record to Findlay, Ohio next weekend for the Town Place
Suites Classic. The Lions will play four matches, including a
showdown against seventh-ranked Truman State to open the action on
Aug. 31. UNA will also play Findlay, Lake Superior State and
10th-ranked Hillsdale at the event.
Match Statistics - Match 3 - North Dakota
Match Statistics - Match 4 - Ashland |
