LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The University of West Alabama volleyball team rallied behind its four seniors to defeat Gulf South Conference opponent Union University in the final two sets and claim a 3-2 victory on Senior Night in Pruitt Hall Friday.
UWA improves to 7-10 overall and 6-6 in the GSC, while the Bulldogs drop to 4-14 and 1-11. West Alabama took the fifth set 15-10 and fourth set 25-18 after winning set two 25-19. Union won set one and three 25-18 and 25-23 respectively.
"Obviously a lot of emotion goes into senior night, but I was very proud of the way our seniors maintained their poise," said UWA head coach
Jordan Lay.
"Union definitely made it tough on us tonight. We have some areas to improve on. We made too many attacking errors tonight. Overall we didn't make it easy on ourselves, but our girls battled through to pick up another GSC win."
Senior
Sadie Beam posted a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs. Senior
Lindsey Ball led the Tigers with 17 digs, while fellow seniors
Jessica Voyles and
Elizabeth Culhane combined for 12 kills. Voyles went on to post a career best six block-assists.
Sophomores
Yanesha Johnson and
Callie Murphy supported the veterans on their night with Johnson's 11 kills and Murphy's 28 assists.
UWA responded from a negative attack percentage in the opening set to finish hitting .135; .438 in the fifth set. Union hit .114 combined, led by Savannah Hughes with 10 kills.
West Alabama volleyball will remain at home with a quick turnaround, hosting Christian Brothers University Saturday at 10 a.m. in Pruitt Hall.
"The key to this short turnaround will be our ability to get enough rest as possible before tomorrow," Lay said. "We will need to find a way to pull out more energy tomorrow to get a win against a very tough team. This is an opponent we are looking to get a little revenge on."
