CLARION, Pa., –  The University of North Alabama volleyball team came up short in a pair of five-set matches on Friday, opening the season 0-2 at the Tony Banner Invitational in Clarion, Pa. UNA rallied twice before falling 3-2 to Indianapolis in the opener before letting a 2-1 lead slip away in another 3-2 loss to Ashland.

The Lions will wrap up play at the Pennsylvania event with two matches on Saturday. UNA will play host Clarion at 11 a.m. (EST) before facing Hillsdale at 3 p.m.

In the opener, UNA overcame 0-1 and 1-2 deficits before falling in the deciding set. Indianapolis hit .307 as a team in the 25-21, 25-27, 25-16, 17-25, 15-10 victory. Although the Lions recorded 69 kills to Indy's 53, the Greyhounds more than made up for the difference with blocking. Indianapolis notched 10 total team blocks, with four different players recording at least two in the match.

Natasha Fomina led the way with 22 kills for UNA. The junior also added a match-high .472 hitting percentage. Jessica Austin and Lexie Bradley added 15 kills each while Peyton Lang had 11 kills. Setter Andrea De Leon produced a career-high 60 assists.

Defensively, Ashtyn Kapovich had 15 digs while Sarah Ann Tiller added 13 digs for the Lions. De Leon completed a double-double showing with 10 digs for the match.

Against Ashland, it was UNA who led twice in the match, but couldn't come away with the victory. Ashland rallied twice to come away with a 17-25, 25-23, 12-25, 25-21, 15-9 win. Alli Cudworth led all players with 21 kills for the Lady Eagles.

Fomina, again paced the offensive attack for the Lions with a team-high 17 kills. Her two-match total on the day included 39 kills with a .456 hitting percentage. Victoria Quintanilla hit .474 in the second match and added 12 kills while Bradley added 10 kills.