ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - West Alabama volleyball fell 3-1 against Drury in its first match of the day, and later defeated Missouri Southern 3-2 to split in the final day of the Bettye Wallace Invitational on Saturday.
The Tigers move to 6-2 on the season. Drury improves to 4-3, while Missouri Southern State falls to 2-6 on the year.
"There are going to be days where you show up to play and everything is hard," UWA head coach
Alexis Meeks said. "The opponent is tough, you're not playing your best and the environment is difficult. We faced all that adversity today and came out with a win."
"We learned more about ourselves today than we ever have before, and we needed that. I'm proud of what we accomplished this whole weekend and we're ready to start conference play next week."
UWA took the first set from Drury 25-23 before dropping the next three sets 25-19, 25-12 and 25-20. Drury combined to hit a .200 attack percentage, while West Alabama finished with .098.
Yanesha Johnson led the Tiger attack with 14 kills and added 12 digs in the match to earn a double-double.
Briana Sandifer picked up her seventh double-double on the year, posting 11 kills and 11 digs.
Abby Ames finished with 12 digs in the loss.
Brooke Antenen led the Panthers, recording a triple-double with 11 kills, 11 aces and 11 digs. Mckenna Poynter and Audrey Engleman combined for 32 digs; Poynter with 19 and Engleman with 13.
UWA jumped out to a two-set advantage over MSSU, winning the first set 25-15 and the second 25-14. The Lions rallied to take the next two sets 35-33 and 25-22 before falling in the final set 15-5.
The Tigers dominated the first two sets with a .345 attack percentage in the first and .367 in second while holding the Lions to .030 in both.
Johnson and Sandifer continued to lead the Tiger offense as both picked up double-doubles. Johnson earned 15 kills and 18 digs, and Sandifer posted 24 kills and 15 digs in the win.
Callie Murphy added a double-double, posting 53 assists and 14 digs.
Liz Woodard contributed 10 kills with a .333 attack percentage, and Ames recorded 18 digs.
Sydney Dose led the Lion offense with 17 kills, and Kat Gries emerged as MSSU's defensive leader, recording 26 digs.
The Tigers will head to Florence, Alabama, for their first Gulf Southern Conference match against North Alabama on Sept. 13. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
