FLORENCE, Ala. (September 28, 2025) – The University of North Alabama volleyball team earned its second-straight Atlantic Sun Conference win Sunday afternoon with a decisive 3-0 sweep over Lipscomb in CB&S Bank Arena.
The Lions (8-7, 2-0 ASUN) put on a show for the home crowd en route to their second all-time victory over the Bisons— and the first since 2021. UNA ends the weekend unbeaten while moving to 2-0 in conference standings. This marks UNA's second 2-0 start to conference play in the last three seasons.
The Lions had an efficient attacking outing for the second-straight match, out-hitting the Bisons (4-8, 0-2 ASUN) with a .301 hitting percentage to just 1.82 across the net. This marks the third-highest percentage of the season for UNA.
Individually, North Alabama had standout performances from sophomores Lankford Gurner and Reese Ricketts.
Gurner was an ace on serve, setting a Division I program record with six against the Bisons. The new mark comes two days after tallying a then-career high four against Austin Peay on Sept. 26 — giving her 10 aces in the first two conference matches.
Ricketts led the attack with a team-leading 15 kills on an efficient .419 hitting percentage. She tied her season high in kills while setting a new high in hitting percentage in three-set matches this season. Junior Kendall Barnes finished second with 10 kills, and sophomore Dylann Garner tallied nine kills on a .350 hitting percentage.
Sophomore Kinslee McGowan led with 33 assists, and junior Ava Martindale tied the match high with 15 digs. Ricketts and junior Nicole Sargent were tied with two blocks to lead the Lions.
UNA struck first with a win in set one. Lipscomb won the opening point, but that would be the only time the Bisons led in the frame. The Lions went on a 6-0 run to take a 6-1 advantage, fueled by two aces from Gurner. The run made the difference in the set, also using a solid .267 attack percentage to take the frame, 25-19. Five of Ricketts' 15 kills came in the first set.
Set two proved the most competitive in the match. The frame had 16 tied scores and seven lead changes in the back-and-forth set. Tied at 10, North Alabama gained momentum first with a 5-1 run for a 15-11 lead. Lipscomb answered with a responding 5-1 run to bring the match back tied at 16. The teams continued to battle with the set closing, but three-straight points at the 22-22 mark gave UNA the 2-0 set lead. Kills each from McGowan and Ricketts won set two for the Lions, 25-22.
North Alabama's offense sealed the deal in set three. UNA secured its highest set attack percentage at .387 with Ricketts leading with six kills and a .600 hitting percentage. Gurner stole the show with three service aces, including two in a 6-0 run to make the score 15-9. An additional three kills from Garner on a .500 hitting percentage helped the Lions sweep Lipscomb with a 25-20 set triumph.
The Lions hit the road on Wednesday, Oct. 1, to face the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears at 6 p.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
