MONTEVALLO – The University of Alabama in Huntsville remains at the top of the Gulf South Conference with another win, Thursday's coming against Montevallo in a 3-1 contest.
The Chargers (20-2, 12-1 GSC) got on the board first before the Falcons (17-7, 9-4) answered with a point of their own. This start set the tone for the first set as the largest lead in the set until the final rally was just four points. Montevallo took the early lead, 8-4, before UAH tied the score at 11. While the next few rallies saw an even trade of points, Emily Redman eventually landed a kill to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead they eventually widened to 19-16 on a final Cooper Garrett service ace. The score tied twice at 19 and again at 20 before Kayla Ward gave UAH the go-ahead lead on a kill to start a 5-0 rally that Ell Schumacher capped with a final kill to give Chargers a 25-20 Set 1 win
Set 2 began with a point for the Falcons before Garrett provided an answer for UAH with a kill of her own. Both sides were held fairly close through the ensuing dozen rallies as they were tied at 7-7 before Montevallo began to pull away. The Falcons took the next seven points and held the momentum the remainder of the set as the Chargers dropped Set 2, 25-12.
Despite the loss in Set 2, UAH began the third with a quick pair of points with kills from Redman and Schumacher. While Montevallo kept pace with UAH over the next few rallies, the Chargers systematically began to pull away with an eventual 10-6 lead with a kill delivered by Amelia Smith. The Chargers continued to pile on the pressure, leading by as much as six points at 17-11, before staving off a push from the Falcons. Despite the pressure from the home team, UAH closed Set 3 on a 3-1 run to earn a 25-20 win and move ahead 2-1 for the match.
The battle that lasted the first three sets, however, only served as warmup for the extended action of the fourth. Both sides attempted over 40 attacks in the set while UAH landed 14 kills to the Falcons' 13.
Montevallo started the fourth set off with a couple points before UAH responded with a 7-1 run that began and ended with points from Sydney Durban as she was credited with a kill to start off the rally before she capped it with a pair of service aces to take a 7-3 lead. That lead became a contentious affair going forward, though, as UAH and Montevallo entered a deadlock over the lead as the pair combined to tie the score nine times before the first set point, 24-23, for UAH. Even then, Montevallo tied the score on the ensuing action to force the set into extra play and forcing a set point of its own. Garrett stepped up for the Chargers, though, to tie the score at 26 before Redman scored the ensuing kill to force the issue once more before Garrett finished the back-and-forth battle with one final kill to give UAH the 28-26 win in Set 4 to finish the match.
IN THE STATS
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UAH totaled 47 kills in the match to Montevallo's 48. Emily Redman and Cooper Garrett led the attack with 11 kills each while Mary Grace Bundrant added another nine while Kayla Ward notched six.
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Anna Clare Hutto led the Chargers in assists with 19 while Garrett was right behind with 18 of her own.
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UAH scored seven service aces as a team with Redman, Sydney Durban and Brooklyn Stiles each scoring two while Garrett served up one more.
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Ella Schumacher, Amelia Smith and Ward each scored three total blocks as each recorded a solo stop and a pair of assists. As a team, UAH recorded 7.0 total blocks.
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Redman and Durban tied to lead the team in digs with 11 each.
COMING UP
The Chargers will return home on Tuesday, October 27, to host Lee in UAH's breast cancer awareness game at 6 p.m.
