FLORENCE, Ala. (October 22, 2023) – North Alabama Volleyball won its second of two matches this weekend, taking an Atlantic Sun Conference matchup against the Jacksonville Dolphins in four sets on Sunday afternoon inside CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall.
The Lions earned their third straight win on Sunday, moving to 13-9 overall and to an even 5-5 record in ASUN matches. The victory also equals UNA's win total from the 2022 season with six more matches to go in the 2023 season.
The two teams battled early, splitting the first two sets, but the Lions pulled ahead with a thrilling 27-25 win in the third set and a dominant 25-14 win in the closing set.
Junior outside hitter Katy Floyd tied graduate middle blocker Anna Katherine Griggs for UNA's season-high in kills by an individual player with 19 — two short of a career-high of 21 — and registered a second-straight double-double with 12 digs. Griggs and graduate middle Maggie Sullivan both hit at an even .500 in attacking percentage and finished second and third on the team in kills with 13 and eight, respectively.
Category leaders for the Lions included junior setter Elif Ozsoy with two service aces, Sullivan with four blocks, senior setter Kennedey Johnson with 27 assists and graduate libero Luana Bulara with 18 digs.
The first set of the match started off with a UNA 4-0 run, as Griggs got going early with two quick kills. Three early kills from Floyd extended the lead to 6-2 before the Dolphins worked their way back to tie with an 8-4 run. Three-straight points saw North Alabama go ahead by three and maintain the advantage through most of the set. With the score at 21-20, kills from Griggs and freshman outside hitter Nicole Sargent sparked a 4-1 run to help the Lions win the first set, 25-21.
Set two would see Jacksonville jump out to an early lead, with two kills and an ace pushing the Dolphins to a 5-2 lead. UNA later responded with a 5-2 run to cut the lead to 9-7, but Jacksonville ran off five-straight to extend the cushion to 14-7. Maintaining control halfway through, a second five-point run gave the Dolphins their largest lead of the match at 22-12. Jacksonville would grab set two by a score of 25-15.
With a set apiece, both teams exchanged three points to start the third set before two kills from Floyd and junior outside hitter Brenna Tietz helped UNA grab the 6-3 lead early on. The Lions would extend the lead to 15-8, with Floyd, Griggs, Johnson and Sullivan each registering kills to ignite the offense. The Dolphins offense would come alive to come within one of tying, outscoring UNA 11-5 to make the score 20-19. The Lions eventually found themselves ahead 24-21 with set point in sight, but JU went on a 4-0 run to set up its own set point. The defense of the Lions proved to be the difference with the score tied at 25-25, as a block from Tietz and Sullivan and a solo block by Sullivan immediately after made for the tying and go-ahead points. An attack error ended the threat and kept momentum wearing Purple & Gold.
UNA took control in set four, as the Lions used an early 6-0 run to build a 12-5 lead. North Alabama took advantage of seven errors by the Dolphins in the fourth set, with Floyd leading the way with six kills in the set, followed by two from Sullivan and Griggs. UNA never trailed in the final set, leading wire-to-wire for its most dominant set win of the match, 25-14.
The Lions start this coming week with a midweek match Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. at Central Arkansas before returning to CB&S Bank Arena on Saturday, Oct. 28 against ASUN leader FGCU at 6 p.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
