CARROLLTON, Ga. – West Alabama volleyball team goes 0-2 during its Georgia swing against Valdosta State and West Georgia. After a close 3-0 loss at Valdosta, the Tigers suffered a similar fate at West Georiga, falling 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-14).
UWA moves to 1-14 on the season and 1-8 in the Gulf South Conference, and UWG improves to 10-9 and 4-5.
Leading the offense, junior Nathalia Medeiros contributed nine kills on 19 swings. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil native, also had two block assists. Following Medeiros, sophomore Madison Fisher had eight, and freshman Amelia Johnigan tallied two.
On defense, senior Beatriz Giordan had one solo block and two block assists. Sophomore Desiree Blount had one block assist and led the team in assists with 19. She also had seven digs.
MacKenzie Wells had a match-high of 12 digs in the back while contributing one service ace and one assist.
SET ONE (L, 25-21)
West Alabama had the first serve of the competition but fell behind when West Georgia claimed the first two points. Back-to-back kills by Emilee Harris put the Wolves ahead 2-0. The Tigers answered with Medeiros scoring on a kill, Johnigan laying down a service ace, and then following up with a kill of her own. An exchange of scoring ensued until the Tigers found themselves behind 21-19. West Georgia went on a short scoring run, collecting points on a kill by Caitlin Frazee, a kill by Harris, and a Tiger miscue, 24-21. West Alabama did not let it go unanswered and collected its final points of the set on a service error and another kill by Johnigan. Despite the effort, the Wolves claimed their 25th point to take the frame.
SET TWO (L, 25-15)
Following West Georgia's opening serve, the Tigers recorded the first point on a Wolves attack error. West Georgia took the following two points, and the two teams went back and forth with scoring. Ahead by two with a score of 10-8, the Wolves extended their leads with back-to-back kills. Medeiros gave UWA a point on the kill, but it was answered with a 4-point scoring run by West Georgia. UWG continued to score. Following another kill by Medeiros and the score at 16-10 in favor of the Wolves, West Georgia added five more to extend its lead to 21-10. The Tigers attempted to rally back, but the point deficit was too much, and UWG took the set 25-15.
SET THREE (25-14)
A kill by Tierra White and a service ace by Sydney Blackmon gave the Wolves the first two points of the last set. Fisher answered with a kill for the Tigers, and a service ace by Kaylie Lake tied the game at 2-2. After a service error by Lake, UWG claimed two additional points to pull ahead 5-2. The scoring exchange continued, with West Alabama grabbing three points on kills by Isabela Sarti and Medeiros and a miscue by the Wolves to tie the set at 5. The teams took turns going on short runs, but West Georgia outpaced the Tigers to grab a 14-8 advantage. West Alabama attempted to get back in the game but could only score six more points before West Georgia scored its 25th.
UP NEXT
The West Alabama Volleyball team will take a week's break from competition before traveling to West Haven, Fla., to participate in the GSC/SSC Crossover. The first match is set for Friday, Oct. 22.
To stay connected with the UWA volleyball team, follow @uwavolleyball on Instagram and @uwa_volleyball on Twitter. General athletic news, along with game recaps and box scores, can be found at uwaathletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
