PENSACOLA, Fla. - The University of Montevallo volleyball team hit the road for the Gulf South Conference Championships which are being hosted by the University of West Florida, and the Falcons opened the tournament with the first match of the event. Montevallo took on Mississippi College in the tournament's opening round, and after dispatching with the Choctaws (10-23) in straight sets in the opener, Montevallo (19-14) fell to the fourth-seeded Uniont (Tenn.) Bulldogs (21-11) in a 5-set heartbreaker to end their GSC Tournament run.

Match 1 Information

Score: Montevallo 3, Mississippi College 0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-21)
Records: Montevallo (19-13) | Mississippi College (10-23)
Location: Pensacola, Fla. (UWF Field House)

Match Notes

• Desiree Rodriguez was the only Falcon to reach double digits in kills, as she notched 10 of Montevallo's 28 kills in the match.
• Rodriguez led the way for the Falcons defensively at the net, recording six blocks, and Brioni Dixon added five blocks.
• Amanda Nugent had six kills and four service aces.
• Savannah Roys had a double-double with 22 assists and 20 digs.
• Michaela Henderson added 13 digs.

How it Happened

1st Set

• Mississippi College started the match with four straight points, but Montevallo answered with a 6-0 run to take the lead. Still, midway through the stanza, Mississippi College held a 12-11 lead.
• An 8-1 Montevallo run gave the Falcons the 19-13 lead late in the period, and though the choctaws closed the gap to 19-18, the Falcons managed to keep the lead and pull away to the 25-22 set win.

2nd Set

• Montevallo scored the first five points of the second frame, but Mississippi College rallied to tie the score at 6-6. An 8-3 Montevallo run helped the Falcons build a 14-9 lead, but MC closed the gap to a single point, again at 19-18.
• Montevallo closed the match on a 6-1 run to close out the frame 25-19 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

3rd Set

• The third set was close again early, and Montevallo held a slim 9-8 lead when they went on a run that helped them take control
• A 5-2 spurt helped the Falcons get a little breathing room at 14-9, and the Falcons led the rest of the way. Montevallo used a series of short runs to hold off the choctaws, and Montevallo won the set 25-21 to complete the sweep and send the Choctaws home.

Match 2 Information

Score: Union (Tenn.) 3, Montevallo 2 (25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 14-25, 15-12)
Records: Montevallo (19-14) | Union (21-11)
Location: Pensacola Fla. (UWF Field House)

Match Notes

• Dixon led the Montevallo offense with 16 kills, and she was one of three players in double-figures. 
• Nugent and Evelina Teran each added 14 kills, and Nugent picked up a double-double with 11 digs.
• Roys posted her second souble-double of the day with 48 assists and 11 digs.
• Henderson led the way with 25 digs, and Sykler Sieber added 11 digs.

How it Happened

1st Set

• The opening frame was close early, but a 6-0 run for Montevallo gave UM a 12-8 lead entering the middle stages of the stanza.
• Union, however, answered with an 8-2 spurt to reclaim the lead at 16-14, but Montevallo again surged in front late, taking a 23-21 lead before Union finished the set with four straight points to claim the stanza 25-23.

2nd Set

• Montevallo opened the second set on a 6-2 run, and the Falcons led until Union scored four consecutive points to tie the score at 10.
• The points ignited a 9-2 run for the Bulldogs that helped Union take a 15-12 lead, and while Montevallo kept the margin close, Union held on and won the set 25-22 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

3rd Set

• The teams split the first 12 points of set three evenly, but Montevallo built momentum into the middle stages of the period with a 6-1 run that helped them take a 12-7 lead.
• Montevallo led for the rest of the frame, and a late 6-1 spurt put UM in position to take a 25-22 set win to keep the match alive.

4th Set

• UM built on the momentum of the third set win by opening set four on a 7-0 run, and the lead reached eight points twice early, at 11-3 and 12-4.
• With the Falcons leading by seven late, Montevallo closed the set on a 5-1 run to take the stanza 25-14 and force a decisive fifth set.

5th Set

• Union took four of the first seven points in the fifth stanza, but a 4-1 run from Montevallo gave the Falcons a 7-5 lead, and at the switch of courts, UM led 8-6.
• Union rallied to tie the score at 11 with a 3-1 spurt, and after Montevallo took a 12-11 lead, Union won the final four points of the match to take the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.

Up Next

Montevallo's season is over unless the Falcons earn an at-large bid to the NCAA South Regional Tournament. The 2019 season was highlighted by the Falcons running off a stretch of eight wins in nine matches over a span of three weeks in the season's final month. During the span, the Falcons won 24 of the 30 sets they played. The Falcons were led statistically in kills by Dixon (350), Teran (328), and Rodriguez (305); in assists by Roys (1,174); in Service Aces by Henderson (37) and Hannah Fernandez (32); in digs by Henderson (424), Sieber (369), and Roys (344); and in Blocks by Dixon (128.0) and Fernandez (120.0).