FLORENCE, S.C. | The University of Alabama in Huntsville volleyball team won both its matches in four sets on Friday against North Greenville (4-1) and Francis Marion (4-2) on the opening day of the FMU Tournament. UAH improves to 7-0 on the year, which is the best start for the program since 1990 when the Blue & White began the campaign 11-0.

UAH 3, NGU 1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-10, 25-21)
The Chargers opened the Francis Marion Tournament on Friday morning against North Greenville, taking the match in four sets over the Crusaders. UAH dropped the initial set, but charged back to win the final three stanzas to improve to 6-0 on the season.

The first set was tightly contested, as the Crusaders would go on to win 25-22 to take a 1-0 advantage over the Chargers. Despite dropping the frame, reigning GSC Freshman of the Week Anna LeDuc paced the UAH attack with seven successful swings.

After falling into an early hole, the Blue & White cruised to a 25-16 win in the second set, going on a 5-1 win to even the match at 1-1. The Chargers then took the third set, 25-10, thanks to a .417 team hitting percentage and 9-0 run with UAH trailing 7-6.

The Chargers went on to take the fourth and final set by a score of 25-21, which included a successful frame by Kendall Knisley who posted five kills on a .667 hitting percentage.

Defensively, UAH was paced by freshman Haley Hop with 17 digs followed by senior Alexis Deal with 12 scoops. LeDuc finished with a strong game overall, tallying 12 kills, five service aces, five block assists and nine digs.

UAH 3, FMU 1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-14)
UAH stumbled in the opening set as Francis Marion would take a 1-0 lead on a 25-20 first-set win. LeDuc would again lead the offense with four kills in the initial frame while posting a team-best four digs.

The Chargers rebounded for a 25-18 win in the second stanza, with the team rallying for five unanswered points with the game tied 5-5 and eventually finishing off the win on a 5-1 run.

The Blue & White took a 2-1 advantage with a close 25-22 win in the third as Knisley led the attack with five kills on a .667 hitting percentage. LeDuc also added five successful swings in the third set.

The Chargers kept their record undefeated with a dominating win in the fourth and final frame, topping the Patriots in the largest margin of the match with a 25-14 final. UAH completed the four-set win on a 4-0 run with senior Haley Snyder serving.

Anna Claire Johnson, Knisley and LeDuc all finished the contest with double-digit kills, with LeDuc leading the way with a team-best 13 kills. Kirsten Giles had a game-high 40 assists, while Hop set a season-high with 23 digs.

UAH will be back in action tomorrow with contests against Mount Olive at 10 a.m. and Georgia College at 2 p.m. in the final day of the Francis Marion Tournament.