NatashaFominaNCAA
1
North Alabama UNA 25-10
3
Winner West Florida UWF 26-9
North Alabama UNA
25-10
1
Final
3
West Florida UWF
26-9
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
North Alabama UNA 21 25 17 20 (1)
West Florida UWF 25 17 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

UNA FALLS IN FIRST ROUND OF SOUTH REGIONAL

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., – North Alabama struggled to find offense Thursday in a 3-1 loss to West Florida in the opening round of the NCAA South Region Tournament. The Lions hit .140 on the day falling to the Argonauts for the third time this season. The season-ending loss on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic gives UNA a 29-6 record on the year.
 
Each team produced three players with double-digit kill totals. The Argonauts, however, recorded 10 more total kills for the match. UNA also had 25 attack errors and six reception errors. Natasha Fomina led the Lions with 12 kills and four blocks.
 
"It's frustrating because we've had a very good season with some very high goals and we fell a little short," said UNA head coach Stephanie Radecki. "I was proud of the way we continued to fight hard and were able to stay in it till the end. West Florida is a great team. They played extremely well and executed well today."
 
In the opening set, West Florida built a 23-16 lead and held off a late rally by the Lions.  UNA scored four straight to pull within 23-20 before back-to-back points by the Argonauts ended the game. UNA hit just .069 in the frame.
 
The script was flipped in the second set with UNA hitting .258 and the Argonauts hitting just .097 in the frame. The Lions held a slim 11-8 lead before scoring six straight points to take control. UWF would get no closer than seven points down the stretch.
 
West Florida raced out to an early 5-0 lead in the third set and pushed the advantage to 9-3 to prompt both North Alabama timeouts. UWF pulled away down the stretch for the 25-17 victory.
 
The Argonauts led by as many as nine in the final frame before again holding off a UNA rally. After falling behind 10-1 to start the set, the Lions got within three points four different times. A kill by Jessica Austin made the score 23-20 before UWF ended the match with consecutive points.
 
"The set that we won, we were able to keep them (West Florida) out of system a lot," added Radecki. The games that they won, they were passing well and getting good play at the net. They also served us a lot tougher today than they usually do. Their libero also played extremely well, which created a lot of momentum for them."
 
Austin added 11 kills and a .391 hitting percentage for North Alabama while Lexie Bradley also reached double figures with 10 kills on the day. Jayden Davila-McClary had 38 assists while Ashtyn Kapovich recorded a match-high 14 digs. Sarah Ann Tillery added 10 digs for the Lions.
 
"It was a good season," said Fomina, who wraps up her four-year career at UNA with 1,547 kills, including 481 this season. "It's unfortunate when you have such big goals and don't play as well as you know you can. That's just how volleyball is. Sometimes you are on and sometimes you're not. Tonight we just were not as on as we wanted to be."

West Florida was led by Cora Bidlack and Corisha Smtih, who notched 13 kills each. The Argonauts (26-9) advance to the second round to face top-seeded and tournament host Palm Beach Atlantic.
 
 
 
 
3489
Lexie Bradley
  
3486
Ashtyn Kapovich
  
3492
Victoria Quintanilla
   
3491
Peyton Lang
   
3488
Jayden Davila-McClary
   
3487

 
 
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Players Mentioned

Jessica Austin

#1 Jessica Austin

MH
5' 10"
Junior
Bio
Lexie Bradley

#12 Lexie Bradley

OH
5' 11"
Junior
Natasha Fomina

#8 Natasha Fomina

OH
5' 10"
Senior
Ashtyn Kapovich

#17 Ashtyn Kapovich

LIB
5' 5"
Junior
Peyton Lang

#21 Peyton Lang

OH/RS
6' 0"
Senior
Victoria Quintanilla

#18 Victoria Quintanilla

RS
5' 10"
Senior
Sarah Ann Tillery

#15 Sarah Ann Tillery

DS
5' 7"
Senior
Jayden Davila-McClary

#20 Jayden Davila-McClary

S
5' 8"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Jessica Austin

#1 Jessica Austin

5' 10"
Junior
Bio
MH
Lexie Bradley

#12 Lexie Bradley

5' 11"
Junior
OH
Natasha Fomina

#8 Natasha Fomina

5' 10"
Senior
OH
Ashtyn Kapovich

#17 Ashtyn Kapovich

5' 5"
Junior
LIB
Peyton Lang

#21 Peyton Lang

6' 0"
Senior
OH/RS
Victoria Quintanilla

#18 Victoria Quintanilla

5' 10"
Senior
RS
Sarah Ann Tillery

#15 Sarah Ann Tillery

5' 7"
Senior
DS
Jayden Davila-McClary

#20 Jayden Davila-McClary

5' 8"
Sophomore
S