BIRMINGHAM (April 13, 2024) – The University of North Alabama beach volleyball team had a strong opening day with two wins against Southern Miss and Mercer at the Blazer Beach Bash in Birmingham on Saturday.
 
Coming off the big win against No. 20 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, North Alabama got off to a blazing start with two wins. UNA opened with a win in the first all-time meeting against the Golden Eagles, then defeated Mercer for the second time in three all-time meetings. Four of the five flights picked up wins on the day with UNA's top three flights winning in both contests.
 
Graduate Paula Klemperer and senior Taylor Seney added two wins to give them 17 on the year, while junior Katy Floyd and sophomore Selma Robinson surpassed the 20-win mark this season with two wins today. Junior Ryenne Gepford and graduate Mackenzie Martin kept up their strong form with two victories, and graduate Kaitlyn Holbrook and sophomore Grace Austin picked up a marquee win against Southern Miss.
 
North Alabama improves to 17-9 on the season. Southern Miss went 1-1 on the day to move to 13-19, while Mercer stands at 16-16 after opening with two losses.  
 
Match 1 — North Alabama 4, Southern Miss 1
 
The first-ever meeting between North Alabama and Southern Miss resulted in the Lions first win of the day. North Alabama's top four flights secured wins against the Golden Eagles with three coming in straight sets.
 
Austin and Holbrook opened the dual with a 21-14, 21-14 win over Jessica Fairly and Madison Baldridge from flight four. Robinson and Floyd were pushed to a third set after winning the first set, 21-16, but narrowly dropping the second, 21-23. UNA's second flight held strong for a 15-10 third-set win to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
 
Martin and Gepford won the dual with a 21-12, 21-12 victory over Ashley Rough and Dylan Russell – the pairs fourth in a row. Seney and Klemperer capped the Lions' opening matchup with a 21-16, 21-13 triumph over Laurel Dennis and Sadie McAda.
 
Senior Jelena Girod and sophomore Sarah Larkin Lewis had a two-set battle from court five with the Golden Eagles' Madison Cassidy and Valeria Siakidou Papakyriakou. UNA's fifth flight pushed the second set to a win-by-two situation but fell in a 21-17, 27-25 result.
 

1. Klemperer/Seney (UNA) def. Dennis/McAda (USM) 21-16, 21-13
2. Floyd/Robinson (UNA) def. Chudzik/Murczek (USM) 21-16, 21-23, 15-10
3. Martin/Gepford (UNA) def. Rough/Russell (USM) 21-12, 21-12
4. Austin/Holbrook (UNA) def. Fairly/Baldridge (USM) 21-14, 21-14
5. Cassidy/Siakidou Papakyriakou (USM) def. Girod/Lewis (UNA) 21-17, 27-25

 
 
Match 2 — North Alabama 3, Mercer 2
 
The Lions won their third dual in a row in the day one finale from Birmingham. The top three flights finished with their second wins of the day as UNA earned their second all-time win over the Mercer Bears. Both teams split the first two matches before two-straight North Alabama victories secured the team victory.
 
UNA started strong with a Floyd and Robinson win from court two. The second-flight pair defeated Nicole O'Mara and Jordan Paddock, 21-17, 21-14, to become the Lions first pair to 20 wins this season. The Bears tied the dual with a victory from flight four, as eight total points decided Liv Diaz and Kathryn Corbett's 21-16, 21-18 win over UNA's Austin and Holbrook.
 
North Alabama regained the lead with Seney and Klemperer's 21-14, 21-14 top-flight win over Kate Hardie and Sydney Benson. Martin and Gepford stayed hot with a 21-10, 21-17 triumph over Lexi Polychrones and Reese Hood to clinch the team point for the Lions.
 
The final match went to the Bears from court five, but Girod and Lewis did not go down without a battle. The pair forced a win-by-two scenario in the second set, but Mercer's Alyssa Scoggins and Kathryn Corbett saw the match out with a 21-16, 26-24 win.
 
 

1. Klemperer/Seney (UNA) def. Hardie/Benson (MU) 21-14, 21-14
2. Floyd/Robinson (UNA) def. O'Mara/Paddock (MU) 21-17, 21-14
3. Gepford/Martin (UNA) def. Polychrones/Hood (MU) 21-10, 21-17
4. Diaz/Corbett (MU) def. Austin/Holbrook (UNA) 21-16, 21-18
5. Scoggins/Engel (MU) def. Girod/Lewis (UNA) 21-16, 26-24

 
 
COMING UP NEXT
 
North Alabama ends the Blazer Beach Bash against host school UAB on Sunday. The in-state matchup will see UNA go for their first all-time win against the Blazers with first serve scheduled for noon.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram