FLORENCE, Ala. (October 24, 2024) – The University of North Alabama volleyball team begins a six-match homestand this weekend, welcoming West Georgia and Queens to CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall this Friday and Sunday.
UNA returns home after four-straight away matches, picking up two wins in trips to Tennessee and Florida. The Lions picked up wins against Austin Peay and Stetson, and despite no home-court advantage, North Alabama had new Division I marks in three of the four road matches.
Freshman Reese Ricketts had two 22-kill performances at Lipscomb and Austin Peay, which was the most in UNA's Division I era at the time. One week later, graduate Jasmine Brooks reset the Division I program record with a career-high 23 kills against Stetson.
Before Brooks, UNA has not had a player with 23 or more kills since 2017 when former standout Lexie Bradley landed a rare 34 kills against UAH. This was just two shy of the record 36 kills set in 2003 by Yana Ninova.
North Alabama aims for its second 2-0 weekend in Florence and looks to keep the winning ways going to cement its place in the ASUN Volleyball Championships a month away. Eight games remain before the postseason tournament.
The Lions open against the Atlantic Sun Conference's newest member, facing the Wolves on Friday, Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. UNA follows up with the matchup against the Royals on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 1 p.m.
Friday's match against West Georgia will also be North Alabama's annual "Dig Pink" match, where fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The matches will be available for streaming on ESPN+, and live stats will be provided courtesy of StatBroadcast. Full results and a recap will be posted on RoarLions.com following each match, but fans can follow along in real time on the UNA Volleyball social media pages.
Parking near the Hal Self Athletic Annex will be limited due to Bank Independent Stadium construction. Violators will be towed if parked in the construction zone. Fans are encouraged to park in the lots below the arena, along Circular Road and North Pine Street.
Limited handicap parking will also be available in front of the annex and the CB&S Bank Arena ticket office.
MATCH 1
North Alabama vs. West Georgia
Friday, Oct. 25, 2024
6 p.m.
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets | Twitter
MATCH 2
North Alabama vs. Queens
Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024
1 p.m.
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets | Twitter
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: The Lions went 1-1 in away matches against FCGU and Stetson, picking up a 3-1 road victory against the Hatters on Oct. 20. UNA took a set against the Eagles on Oct. 18 but fell to FGCU in four sets.
BROOKS BREAKS THE RECORD: Brooks finished with a career-high 23 kills against Stetson, setting North Alabama's Division I program record for single-match kills. After tying the then-program record against Little Rock on Sept. 21, Brooks finally was able to set the new mark in the career performance. It marked the second time in four matches that the record had been set, with freshman Reese Ricketts setting the program record with 22 at Lipscomb and tying the record at Austin Peay last week.
A TEAM EFFORT: North Alabama is in the top three of four ASUN statistical categories as a team, ranking among the best ASUN teams in opponent hitting percentage, opponent blocks, opponent service aces and digs. The Lions are second in opponent hitting percentage (.192 hitting percentage), opponent blocks (1.81 per set) and opponent service aces (1.19 per set) while third in digs (16.11 per set).
LEADERBOARD LIONS: Five individual Lions are also ranked in the top 10 of the ASUN in respective categories. Ricketts is fifth in kills with 297 kills and a 3.67 kill/set average and sixth in points, averaging 4.01 a set. Ricketts also has the second-most kills among the top 10. Fellow freshman Audrey Small is sixth in the ASUN in digs, registering a 4.35 digs/set average with her 352 digs third among the top 10. Small's totals also rank her in the top 50 nationally, with the freshman 36th in the nation. Sophomore Olivia Fenoff ranks fourth in the ASUN with 32 aces and a .40 ace per set average. Fenoff's totals put her in the national ranks with the outside hitter 41st in the nation in service aces. Senior Elif Ozsoy is eighth in the conference with 634 assists and a 7.83 set average, while sophomore Nicole Sargent rounds out the leaderboard with 73 blocks and a .90 blocks/average – good for 10th in the ASUN.
AMONG THE BEST: North Alabama's backline defense has been among the best in the country, with the Lions ranking among the top 25 in the NCAA in digs. As of Oct. 21, the Lions are 22nd in the nation in digs, with 1,305 on the season.
MILESTONE WATCH: North Alabama has several players that have either surpassed career marks or approaching them this season. Ozsoy surpassed the 1,000-assist mark against UT Martin on Sept. 6, with the senior getting her 1,500th career assist against Stetson on Oct. 20. Tietz and Sargent secured their 100th career block earlier this season, with Tietz achieving the feat at UT Martin and Sargent at Stetson. Senior Katy Floyd earned her 100th career service ace against Bellarmine on Oct. 6. Brooks and Tietz are approaching the 500-kill career mark, totaling 493 and 471 kills, respectively. Brooks is also approaching 100 career blocks with 87 for her career.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA has been victorious in seven of its past 10 matches. In the current span, North Alabama has had the more efficient offense with a .227 attack percentage compared to .199 for opponents. The Lions have excelled from the service line, leading with 72 to 55 from opponents, and they have had a strong net defense with 84 blocks (79.5 for opponents).
SCOUTING WEST GEORGIA: The Wolves make the trip to Florence with a 9-11 record and a 2-6 record in conference standings. They dropped two matches in a homestand from Oct. 18 & 20, falling 3-1 to Bellarmine and 3-0 to EKU. A strength for UWG is the service line, with the Wolves second in the conference with an average of 1.85 per set. West Georgia has three players in the top ten for service aces in Victoria Schmer (seventh/.37 per set), Ashley Barnes (ninth/.35 per set) and Desha Van Veldhuizen (10th/.34 per set). The Wolves are coached by Kara Hellmann.
SERIES HISTORY: North Alabama and West Georgia face each other in the 85th overall meeting and the first since 2017 – UNA's last year in Division II. The Lions lead the series 68-16 and have won the previous seven meetings dating back to 2014.
SCOUTING QUEENS: Queens enter the weekend at 6-13 overall with a 3-5 record in the ASUN. Last time out, the Royals split a two-match weekend in Charlotte, earning a 3-0 win over Bellarmine on Oct. 20. Queens plays Central Arkansas as part of a two-match roadtrip on Oct. 25 before facing the Lions. The team's backline defense leads the conference with 17.71 digs per set and a total of 1,240 on the season. Tilley Collins plays a key role on the defense, averaging the eighth-most digs with 3.55 per set. The Royals are led by Hannah Long.
SERIES HISTORY: The Lions meet the Royals in the fourth all-time meeting, with UNA leading the series, 3-0.
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