FLORENCE – The University of North Alabama volleyball team clinched a spot in the upcoming Gulf South Conference tournament with a 3-1 home win over visiting West Alabama Friday evening at Flowers Hall. The Lions avenged an earlier-season loss to UWA with the 25-22, 16-25, 30-28, 25-20 victory and dropped the Tigers from first to second in the East Division. West Florida takes over the top spot with a 6-2 league record.

With two regular-season matches, including one conference contest remaining, UNA is 17-13 overall with a 6-3 GSC mark. With the loss, West Alabama drops to 25-7 overall and 5-2 in league play. The Lions will take on West Georgia on Saturday to close out GSC play, then travel to Christian Brothers on Nov. 3 to end the regular season. The GSC Tournament begins Nov. 13 and is hosted by the West Division champion.

On Friday, UNA used a balanced effort on offense and defense. Three players reached double digits in kills while five different players notched at least 10 digs on the night. Sarah Roberts had 17 kills to lead the Lions while Cara Gregg added 15 for the match. Ari Smith rounded out the top hitters for UNA with 11 kills and a .250 hitting percentage.

Setter Alison Jacobs paced the offensive attack for UNA with a season-high 55 assists. The total puts her over 1,000 assists (1,052) for the season and over 4,000 (4,014) for her three-year career at North Alabama.

Defensively, Lauren Greenhill reached 20 digs for the second time this season. Brigid O’Brien added 14 digs while Kristin Zull had 13. Jacobs and Shae Watkins also secured 10 digs each for the Lions.

West Alabama was led by Jordan Kent’s 18 kills and .500 hitting percentage. Despite the loss, the Tigers also clinched a GSC Tournament berth because of a West Georgia loss at Alabama-Huntsville Friday night.