PENSACOLA, Fla., – After dropping the first two sets, North Alabama rallied for three straight wins to defeat West Florida 3-2 Saturday afternoon in Gulf South Conference volleyball action. The 23-25, 15-25, 25-23, 25-10, 15-9 victory represented the first win over UWF since 2006 and kept the Lions in third place in the GSC East Division.

The match was the sixth five-set decision for North Alabama this season and was also the third time this year the Lions have rallied from an 0-2 deficit. UNA also used three-set comebacks to defeat No. 13 Truman State and Division III’s top-ranked Emory.

On Saturday, Sarah Roberts had 24 kills and hit .469 to lead the way while Kristin Zull added a career-high 20 digs on the day.

In the first set, the Lions led 22-17 before UWF rallied for the win. After the Argonauts scored six straight to take a 23-22 lead, UNA was able to tie the game on a kill by Zull. West Florida was able to take the set on a kill and a UNA error to go ahead 1-0 in the match.

UNA held one-point leads early in the second set before the Argos used a spurt to take control of the game. Chelsea Wilhoite had nine kills in the set, including the one that put UWF ahead 11-9 and the home team never trailed again.

Neither team led by more than four points in the third set. After trailing 23-21, the Lions won the game with four straight kills by Roberts, Ari Smith, Kristin Zull and Alison Jacobs. Roberts had seven kills in the set as UNA recorded a .289 team hitting percentage.

North Alabama got a big lead in the fourth set and avoided a UWF comeback. The Lions jumped out to an 11-5 lead and cruised to a 25-10 victory to force a deciding game five. Roberts and Cara Gregg had five kills each in the set as UNA hit .414 as a team and recorded four team blocks.

Roberts continued to be a force in the final game, getting five kills in the 15-9 win. UNA hit .545 as a team and only trailed briefly early in the set.

With the win, UNA moves to 15-13 on the season with a 4-3 mark in GSC play. West Florida holds second place in the East with a 5-2 league mark and is 15-12 overall.

For the match, Jacobs added a season-best 53 assists, seven kills and 10 digs for the Lions. Gregg had 13 kills while Smith added 10 for UNA. Emily Callaway also had a solid showing with siven kills and a season-best four blocks. Defensively, Lauren Greenhill had 19 digs while Brigid O’Brien recorded 11 on the night.

The Lions will play at Alabama-Huntsville Tuesday in another GSC match. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Spragins Hall on the UAH campus.