MONTEVALLO, Ala. - The University of Montevallo volleyball team concluded its 2020-21 season last Thursday in the Conference Championship match at the Finley Center in Hoover.  That match marked the first time this season that the Falcons wound up on the losing end, finishing the season with a 12-1 record and program all-time best .923 winning percentage.
 
When the Falcons arrived on campus in August 2020, there was still uncertainty about when competitions would start – Fall?  Spring?  Would COVID allow a season at all?  Nevertheless, the players returned to the gym, many of whom had not played volleyball during the previous five months.  In addition, no one knew if or when another shutdown due to COVID might happen.
 
Despite graduating several starters and key contributors from its 2019 roster, Montevallo returned three players who received recognition as All-Gulf South Conference performers in previous seasons: Amanda Nugent and Evelina Teran were 2^nd-team All-GSC in 2018 and Savannah Roys was 2^nd-team All-GSC in 2019.  A mass of underclassmen, including six players who were brand new additions for the Falcons, joined the group of veterans for the 2020-21 season.
 
After the Gulf South Conference announced there would be no intercollegiate competition for its Fall sports until at least January 2021, the team continued to practice while remaining hopeful that they would still have a season in the Spring.  In November, the GSC announced plans for a modified season, culminating with a "Spring Championship Series."  The modified conference season consisted of five conference matches throughout the month of March, followed by single-elimination bracket play.
 
Head Coach Katie O'Brien supplemented the reduced conference schedule with some non-conference matches and a Beach Volleyball event, all scheduled to be played in February before conference play began.  It did not take long for COVID to influence the schedule, which resulted with Montevallo hosting their opening match against Talladega College on February 4^th.  The Falcons cruised to victory in Trustmark Arena – the 400^th victory of Coach O'Brien's career.
 
The Falcons' second competition was perhaps their most unique, as they headed down to Huntingdon College to compete in Beach Volleyball.  Even though most of the Falcons had limited experience competing in the doubles format of Beach Volleyball, they quickly adapted.  The chilly afternoon proved successful as Montevallo came out victorious, going 9-1 in the event.
 
Returning indoors, Montevallo finished out their month of pre-conference match-ups, earning wins against Birmingham-Southern, West Alabama, Shorter, and West Georgia.  Throughout that sequence, the Falcons were pushed to five sets twice.  After missing the first several weeks due to injury, Savannah Roys returned to the lineup for the final two matches before GSC play began.
 
Conference play for the Falcons opened up at Valdosta State, with matches against the Blazers and a rematch against West Georgia.  Behind tough serving and resilient blocking, Montevallo cruised a three-set sweep in the opening match against Valdosta State, earning 9 aces and 14 blocks.  In the second match, the defense helped carry the team in a four-set victory against West Georgia, as the Falcons tallied a season-high 101 digs.
 
Montevallo hosted their next GSC match, celebrating its two graduating seniors on Senior Night against Auburn-Montgomery.  Both teams came into the match with undefeated records – the winner would take over sole possession of first place in the GSC Group B standings.  The Falcons came out of the gate strong, winning the first two sets in convincing fashion.  Auburn-Montgomery battled back to take the third set, but Montevallo was able to finish the match in the fourth set, earning their third conference victory and remaining unbeaten on the season.
 
Montgomery was the site for the Falcons' next two matches against Shorter and Lee.  Senior Evelina Teran put away her 1,000^th career kill in the opening match against Shorter.  The Falcons went on to win the match, three sets to one.  In the second match, Montevallo only needed three sets to defeat Lee.  Both the offense and defense stepped up, as the Falcons hit their way to a season-high .274 hitting percentage while holding Lee to a .018 hitting percentage.  The pair of wins meant that Montevallo won GSC Group B by going 5-0 in conference play and completed the regular season with a 10-0 record.
 
Given the unique season, each team made it to bracket play in the GSC Tournament, with the top two seeds from each group hosting the opening rounds.  Shorter defeated West Alabama to earn the right to play the top-seeded Falcons in Montevallo.  In what was the teams' third matchup of the shortened season, Montevallo was able to come away with another victory.

The win advanced the Falcons to the semifinals against Mississippi College who, coming into the match, only had one loss on the season and earned the second seed in Group A.  The semifinals and finals were held at the Finley Center in Hoover, AL.  Mississippi College entered the match as the GSC leader in offense – they had the highest hitting percentage in the GSC and had hit over .210 in every match during the season.  Montevallo, on the other hand, led the conference in defense and had held every opponent under a .192 hitting percentage during the season.
 
The teams split the first two sets, but Montevallo closed the door in sets three and four to win the match and advance to the championship match.  For the match, the Falcons hit .202 and had four players with double-digit kills.  The defensive effort held Mississippi College to a .172 hitting percentage, their lowest for the season.  The Falcons were 12-0 and headed to the championship match.
 
Awaiting the Falcons in the finals was in-state foe Alabama-Huntsville.  Unfortunately, the dream of an undefeated season ended as the Falcons fell in three sets.  Based on their performances, Amanda Nugent and Evelina Teran were both named to the All-Tournament Team.  The conference also presented the GSC Volleyball Champion Scholar-Athlete Award to sophomore Macy Lowery.  The award is given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA among participating teams.
 
The Falcons' 12-1 record achieved this spring marks the highest winning percentage in Montevallo Volleyball history (.923).  The Falcons also received votes in the AVCA Women's Division II Coaches Top-25 Poll for several weeks during the season.  During the conference season, Montevallo led the GSC in Kills/set (13.66) and Opponent Hitting Percentage (.113).  They were second in both Blocks/set (2.24) and Assists/set (12.83).
 
Included with their team success were numerous individual statistical accomplishments:

• Evelina Teran led the GSC with 4.31 Kills/set (ranked 16^th in NCAA DII) and 4.76 Points/set (14^th in NCAA DII). 
• Amanda Nugent was second in the GSC with with 4.24 Points/set (36^th in NCAA DII) and 0.58 Aces/set (23^rd in NCAA DII).
• Morgan Hoffman led the GSC with 1.21 Blocks/set (ranked 18^th in NCAA DII).
• Casey Hendrixson was second in the conference during the GSC season with 5.25 Digs/set.  On March 6^th, she recorded 39 Digs against West Georgia, marking the 5^th-highest single-match Dig total in Montevallo history.
• Allie Dishman had a .329 hitting percentage (ranked 41^st in NCAA DII).