MONTEVALLO - After losing the opening set against West Georgia, the Falcon volleyball team bounced back with three straight wins to defeat the Wolves 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at Trustmark Arena. The Falcons improved to 14-12 with their fifth consecutive victory. More importantly, UM improved to 5-6 in the Gulf South Conference, tied for sixth place with Mississippi College. Meanwhile, West Georgia (11-14) slipped into 8th place at 5-7 in the GSC
Senior outside hitter
Evelina Teran had 21 kills to lead the Falcons. She hit .286 for the match, committing only nine errors on 42 swings.
Jillian Morgan added 14 kills, while
Elizabeth Wilzbach tallied 10 kills. Setters
Sav Roys and
Colton Thompson provided the 1-2 punch in assists with 28 and 20 respectively. Meanwhile,
Megan Schram buoyed the defense with 25 digs to go with eight assists. Wilzbach and
Allie Dishman finished with three blocks each.
As a team, the Falcons had 66 kills on 148 attacks, while committing 21 errors, finishing the match with hitting percentage of .304. UM also had seven service aces. On defense, the Falcons had 65 digs and totaled 10 blocks.
The Wolves took an early lead in the match with a 25-20 win in the opening set. UWG also led 10-5 in the second set. The Wolves were holding on to a slim 17-16 lead when the Falcons scored three straight points to take a 19-17 lead. Despite several challenges, UM held on to even the match at 1-1 with a 25-21 win.
The third set was a virtual slugfest as UWG led early once again at 10-5. But, the Falcons rallied with six in a row, powered by three kills by Dishman, to pull ahead 11-10. The lead seesawed back and forth until the Falcons found themselves on the brink of securing the set, leading 24-22. But, the Wolves rolled up three consecutive points to put themselves in position to win the set leading 25-24. However, UM responded, powered by a service error and attack by the Wolves to jump back in front 26-25. Dishman finally clinched the set with a kill, assisted by Roys, giving the Falcons a 27-25 win.
Riding the momentum of the back-to-back set wins, the Falcons jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the fourth set. Despite multiple assaults from UWG, the Falcons wouldn't relinquish the lead. Dishman provided the finishing touch to give UM the clinching 25-21 victory.
The Falcons have three matches next week, two of which will be on the road. On Tuesday, UM heads to the Sunshine State to tangle with West Florida, who was ranked No. 8 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Then on Friday, the Falcons will visit Lee University, before returning home to face Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m.
