MONTEVALLO, Ala. - The University of Montevallo volleyball team welcomed the University of Alabama-Huntsville to Trustmark Arena on Saturday afternoon with control of their own destiny in the upcoming Gulf South Conference tournament entering play. With a win, the Falcons would clinch the final first round bye in the Championship as the fourth seed, and they hoped to accomplish that on Senior Day as they honored their five seniors. Unfortunately for Montevallo, the Chargers were able to outlast UM and take control of that destiny away, and after Union (Tenn.) defeated Shorter University, the Falcons found themselves without that first round bye.

Montevallo (18-13, 11-5 GSC) and Alabama-Huntsville (24-8, 14-2 GSC) split the first two sets, but the Chargers took sets three and four to claim the victory, 3-1,

Match information

Score: Alabama-Huntsville 3, Montevallo 1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)
Records: Montevallo (18-13, 11-5 GSC) | Alabama-Huntsville (24-8, 14-2 GSC)
Location: Trustmark Arena (Montevallo, Alabama)

Match Notes

• Senior Brioni Dixon led the Montevallo offense in her final home match as a Falcon. Dixon pounded a team-leading 17 kills and hit .533 (17-1-30), and she added three blocks in the match as well.
• Amanda Nugent added 13 kills and 12 digs for a double-double, and Desiree Rodriguez notched a dozen kills and nine digs.
• Savannah Roys dished out 44 assists in the match, and she also posted a double-double with 12 digs.
• Hannah Fernandez had seven kills and six blocks in the match.
• Michaela Henderson led the Falcons with 16 digs, and Skyler Sieber added 12 digs as well.
• The match was the final home match for Dixon, Henderson, Rodriguez, Fernandez, and Harley Masoner.

How it Happened

1st Set

• The teams traded modest runs early in the first frame, but in the middle stages of the set, Montevallo inched out to a 17-12 lead.
• UAH answered with an 11-1 run, though, to seize control, and they won 13 of the final 15 points in the set to take the victory 25-19.

2nd Set

• Neither team won consecutive points in the second frame until, trailing 5-4, UAH put together a 6-1 run to take a 10-6 lead.
• The Chargers' lead reached as many as five points in the frame, but a late 7-1 Montevallo run helped the Falcons take control on their way to the 25-23 win to square the match at one set apiece.

3rd Set

• The Chargers took command early in set three, winning five of the first six points, and UAH led for the duration of the set.
• Montevallo battled to close the gap to 19-16, but another 5-1 run helped UAH seal the set win 25-19 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

4th Set

• The fourth stanza was a battle early, but UAH put together a 9-1 run to take a 13-6 lead in the middle of the frame.
• While the seven point lead was the largest of the stanza for UAH, they were able to keep Montevallo from getting closer than four points in the frame, closing out the win the win 25-20 to take the match 3-1.

Up Next

The Falcons will open the GSC Championship as the No. 5 Seed in the bracket on November 22.. Their quarterfinal is the first match of the day on that Friday, with first serve slated for 11 a.m. CST against the 8th-seeded Choctaws of Mississippi College (10-22). The winner of that match will advance to take on Union (Tenn.) (20-11) at 4 p.m. for the right to go to the semifinals on Saturday against top-seeded West Florida (24-8) at 2 p.m.