TIGERVILLE, S.C. – The University of West Alabama volleyball team showed plenty of fight on opening day of the 2025 season but came up just short in battles against Fayetteville State and North Greenville on Friday night at Hayes Gymnasium.

In five of the six sets that West Alabama (0-2, 0-0 GSC) dropped on Friday, the Tigers finished within three points or less. UWA fell in four sets to Fayetteville State (1-0, 0-0 CIAA) (22-25, 23-25, 25-14, 24-26) before dropping a three set decision to North Greenville (1-1, 0-0 CC) (22-25, 15-25, 23-25).

Match One: FSU 3, UWA 1
The Tigers pushed the Broncos to the limit, responding after dropping the first two sets with a commanding 25-14 victory in the third. Behind the play of Cadence Goeden and Jazlyn Snow at the net, UWA built early momentum and carried it into the fourth, jumping out to a 7-1 lead. Fayetteville State rallied late, however, to edge out the final set, 26-24.

UWA posted a strong offensive effort, hitting .302 with nine service aces against the Broncos. Goeden led the way with 15 kills and 17 points, while Katerina Korre added 14 kills and 17.5 points. Setter Jana Petkovic distributed 41 assists and chipped in nine digs, while libero Bailey Keef anchored the back row with 15 digs.

Match Two: NGU 3, UWA 0
After a 15 kill performance in the opening match against Fayetteville State, Goeden carried that momentum into the Tigers' matchup against the Trailblazers. The junior recorded four kills to begin the match, leading West Alabama to a 8-7 lead. Goeden continued to rack up kills alongside Snow, keeping the set tight until a kill from North Greenville's Anna Fiddelke sparked a 5-0 Trailblazers' run to give NGU a 23-18 advantage late. Service errors from Goeden and Keef resulted into a 25-22 set win for North Greenville.

The Tigers struggled to contain the Trailblazers' offense in the second set. NGU turned in 15 kills on a .440 hitting percentage compared to six kills on a .222 hitting percentage for UWA, leading to a 25-15 set win for NGU.

In the third set, West Alabama fell behind 11-2 before an ace from Korre sparked the Tigers. Korre's ace ignited an 8-3 UWA run, cutting their deficit to three midway through the game. Both teams traded points over the next couple of rallies until a kill from KB Kinney swung the momentum back in favor of the Tigers. Kinney's kill was the beginning of five unanswered West Alabama points, giving UWA their first lead of the set at 22-20. Moments later, the Trailblazers' Anna Fiddelke put down a kill that began a run of four consecutive NGU points that clinched the match for North Greenville.

For the Tigers, Goeden recorded a match-high 17 kills on a .300 hitting percentage while Petkovic dished out 29 assists.

West Alabama will conclude the weekend on Saturday after a 12:30 p.m. CST matchup against Mars Hill in Tigerville.