MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The University of Montevallo volleyball team is set to host the 2024 Gulf South Conference / Peach Belt Conference Crossover. Montevallo, Alabama-Huntsville and Mississippi College will represent the Gulf South and Augusta, Lander and USC Aiken will represent the Peach Belt.
 
Last Time Out
Montevallo is coming off their first win of the season where they defeated Francis Marion in five sets. Nikol Antova led the Falcons with 21 kills on a .279 hitting percentage while she added seven digs, two blocks, an ace and an assist. Danielle Greene was impressive with nine kills on a .533 hit percentage and three total blocks. Ava Wind led UM with 18 digs.
 
How To Follow
Montevallo vs. Lander / Sept. 20 at 12:00 p.m. CT
Live Stream: Here
Live Stats: Here
Tickets: Here
 
Montevallo vs. Augusta / Sept. 20 at 6:00 p.m. CT
Live Stream: Here
Live Stats: Here
Tickets: Here
 
Montevallo vs. USC Aiken / Sept. 21 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Live Stream: Here
Live Stats: Here
Tickets: Here
 
About Montevallo
Fresh off their first win of the season, Montevallo will look to put together a win streak against the toughest schools the PBC can offer. The Falcons came out attacking last weekend as they had two of their highest kill totals and two of their highest assist totals in a match this season. Nikol Antova comes into the crossover as one of the top terminators in the GSC with 75 kills on the season. The freshman from Bulgaria is sixth in the conference with 87 total points.
 
Freshman Ava Wind is eighth in the GSC with 83 digs and she is ninth with an average of 3.00 per set. Wind leads the team with nine aces so far this season and is ninth in the GSC. She has had double-digit digs in five out of seven matches.
 
Through two weeks of the 2024 season, the Falcons have totaled 261 kills, 244 assists, 39 service aces, 266 digs and 60 total blocks.
 
Scouting Lander
The Bearcats are coming into Montevallo with an impressive start to the season. Lander is 6-1 and has swept opponents 3-0 in the previous four matches they have played. In 2023, Lander earned a trip to the NCAA Southeast Regional where they picked up a victory over Emmanuel. LU is second in the PBC and has not lost a match away from home so far in 2024.
 
Katie Miller leads the Bearcats with 96 kills on the season which is first in the Peach Belt by a wide margin. Miller can terminate with the best of them as she brings in a .316 hit percentage. She also leads the conference with 16 aces. Blondie Penafloor compliments Miller as she is hitting .333 with 47 kills. Penafloor is currently fifth in the Peach Belt with 25 total blocks.
 
Montevallo currently leads the all-time series 14-6 but the Bearcats have won the last four matches against Montevallo.
 
Scouting No. 22 Augusta
The Falcons will square off against the number 22 team in Division II in their second match on Friday. Augusta has been recognized as one of the top teams in the country and has a perfect 7-0 record to back it up. The Jaguars most impressive win came against No. 14 Lewis on Sept. 7 where they won in five sets.
 
Marin Freeland leads the Jaguars with 71 kills this season and has the second most total blocks on the team with 39. Freeland, Jada Suguturaga and Madelyn Eden have the three most total blocks in the conference. Janvier Buggs comes in with the fourth most assists in the Peach Belt with 153. As a team, Augusta holds opponents to a .076 hitting percentage. The team is tied for first in the PBC with 338 kills.
 
Montevallo leads the all-time series against Augusta, 15-11. Last season, Augusta defeated the Falcons in four sets.
 
Scouting USC Aiken
The Pacers come into the crossover with a 5-1 record as they have won three straight. USC Aiken swept Francis Marion, Carson-Newman and North Greenville last weekend at the USC Aiken Invitational. The Pacers have three sweeps on their resume.
 
Gyongyver Araczki and Anna Sommer have the top two hitting percentage in the PBC at .462 and .437 respectively. Sommer leads the team with 65 kills and adds 10 blocks. USCA will run a 6-2 with setters Tabor Scanlon and Sidney Hogan who have total 241 assist on the season. As a team, the Pacers have only been blocked 52 times, the lowest in the conference.
 
The Falcons and Pacers are tied in the all-time series 11-11. USCA has won their past five out of six matchups and they defeated the Falcons last season with a reverse sweep.