Tigers Open GSC/SSC Crossover with Win over FT

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of West Alabama Volleyball team started the Gulf South Conference/Sunshine State Conference Crossover with a solid four-set victory over Florida Tech Panthers Friday afternoon at the Finley Center.

UWA improves to 7-14 overall while Florida Tech falls to 2-15.

"We got a good team win today. We started off slow but created some energy and fought back," said Head coach Hilary Lobenstein. "We hope to start off quicker tomorrow."

The Panthers took the first set 25-23, but the Tigers swept the final three games 25-15, 25-22 and 25-23.

Jessica Akiona and Ally Craig both finished with 11 kills to lead the team. Desiree Blount posted 19 assists and Grace Harris passed 17 assists.

Taylor Donato led defensively with 24 digs while Rebecca Johnson added 23 digs. Heloisa Niespodzinski also had double-digit digs with 14. Craig led the front row with five total blocks. Beatriz Giordan added three total blocks.

The Tigers ended with a .146 team attack percentage after turning a .091 percentage in the first set to a .355 attack percentage in the second set. From there, UWA turned in a .140 percentage in the third and .071 percentage in the fourth and final game.

Errors played a large role in the match as Florida Tech committed 34 errors while UWA made 25 errors.

West Alabama returns to action with two games tomorrow. The first against Spring Hill College, who is participating despite not being a member of the GSC or SSC, at 9 a.m. and then the Tigers will wrap the day against Rollins College at 4:45 p.m. Links to live stats for both games are available on uwaathletics.com.

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Players Mentioned

#2 Jessica Akiona: OH; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#4 Taylor Donato: OH; 5' 10"; Senior

#3 Rebecca Johnson: L; 5' 2"; Senior

#7 Grace Harris: S; 5' 9"; Freshman

#18 Ally Craig: OH; 6' 1"; Freshman

#9 Heloisa Niespodzinski: L/DS; 5' 8"; Junior

#10 Desiree Blount: S; 5' 11"; Freshman

#5 Beatriz Giordan: MB; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#2 Jessica Akiona
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: OH

#4 Taylor Donato
: 5' 10"; Senior
: OH

#3 Rebecca Johnson
: 5' 2"; Senior
: L

#7 Grace Harris
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: S

#18 Ally Craig
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: OH

#9 Heloisa Niespodzinski
: 5' 8"; Junior
: L/DS

#10 Desiree Blount
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: S

#5 Beatriz Giordan
: 6' 1"; Junior
: MB