CLINTON, Miss. – The West Alabama Volleyball took on Mississippi College for the second time this season, meeting the Choctaws in their home arena. Despite a competitive third set, the Tigers could not grab the victory, falling in three (25-18, 25-16, 25-19).

Heading the Tiger offense, Nathalia Medeiros had eight kills on 28 total attacks. Heloisa Niespodzinski had great stats behind the line, collecting four service aces on the night.

Defensively, MacKenzie Wells led UWA with 14 digs, and Beatriz Giordan had two block assists.

As a team, West Alabama tallied 22 kills on 97 total attacks for a .052 hitting percentage. Mississippi College recorded 41 kills during the match with 101 total attacks for a .297 hitting percentage.

The Tigers fall to 0-12 on the season and 0-6 in conference play. MC improves to 5-6 overall and 3-3 in the GSC.

SET ONE (L, 25-18)
The Choctaws scored a quick five points, with three of the points accredited to Tiger errors. UWA called its first time out of the set in hopes of changing the momentum. It appeared successful as West Alabama claimed the first point after the timeout to trail MC, 5-1. The Tigers would add two points, but a scoring run by the Choctaws led to the largest lead of the set, 10-3. West Alabama attacks began to land, and the Tigers capitalized on MC errors to battle back and cut their deficit to 13-10. The two teams exchanged scoring runs. Mississippi College grabbed five consecutive points before the Tigers had three, 19-14. A kill by UWAs Nathalia Medeiros and a service ace by Heloisa Niespodzinski led to MC calling its first timeout of the match. The Choctaws were still in the lead with a score of 20-16. After the timeout, MC grabbed two points. The Tigers received a point on an attack error, and a long rally ended in a kill by Madison Fisher, making the score 22-18 with UWA trailing by 4. West Alabama could not bounce back, and MC collected the final three points for the set victory. In the set, the Tigers had eight kills on 32 attacks for a .125 hitting percentage. MC had 13 kills on 38 attempts for a .211 hitting percentage.

SET TWO  (L, 25-16)
Set two opened with a point-for-point exchange, ending on a service ace by the Choctaws, giving them a 4-2 lead. Mississippi College went on a long run to drive the score to 10-3 before UWA took a timeout. MC landed several kills, broken up by a kill from Chyna Dixon, a service error, and a kill by Amelia Johnigan, to hold on to a 15-6 lead. The Tigers called another timeout. West Alabama grabbed three quick points after the timeout with Madison Fisher, Johnigan, and Medeiros kills. However, MC did not let up and expanded its lead to 22-10. UWA tried to rally back with two kills from Fisher, a service ace by Niespodzinski, and several errors from the competition. It was not enough, and the Tigers dropped the second set, 25-16. In set two, UWA landed eight attacks on 39 attempts. There was a dip in hitting percentage, falling to .103, while MC hit a .238.

SET THREE  (L, 25-19)
Mississippi College scored the first two points of the frame with a kill and a block, then turned the service over to the Tigers on a service error. A bad set by the Choctaws would give UWA a second point for a 2-2 tied game. The point exchanged continued, but Dixon's kill gave the Tigers their first lead of the match, 5-4. West Alabama extended its lead to 8-4 with the scoring run including two service aces by Niespodzinski. MC called its first timeout since the first set. The Choctaws slowly chipped away at the Tigers lead, coming within one point several times before taking a 19-18 lead. Rattled by a controversial call by a referee, West Alabama made several errors to close out the game. Choctaws took the set 25-19 and the match 3-0. In the final frame, the Tigers had six kills on 26 attempts. The hitting percentage sat a -.115. MC had the better offense with 13 kills on 21 attacks for a .571 hitting percentage.

UP NEXT
West Alabama will return to its home court in Pruitt Hall, hosting conference rival Christian Brothers on Friday, Oct. 8. The first serve is set for 6 p.m.