Another match, another win for the University of Alabama in Huntsville as it remains atop the Gulf South Conference standings after a 3-0 sweep of Lee at home in SportsMED Arena in Spragins Hall.
The Chargers (21-2, 13-1 GSC) won their 11th straight match Tuesday night after two contentious sets against the Flames (12-10, 8-7) before pulling ahead and securing the three-set win.
UAH got on the board first to begin the match with a pair of points, including a service ace courtesy Anna Clare Hutto. Lee answered back and tied the score at five each, but the Chargers again pushed forward with a 6-0 run as Kayla Ward, Emily Redman and Amelia Smith each scored kills and Cooper Garrett added two service aces to take a 11-5 lead. The Flames responded in kind, though, with five straight points to cut the Chargers' lead to one point. This back-and-forth continued the entirety of the set as Lee eventually took the lead for the first time 16-15. Both sides knotted the score at 18 and again at 20 before UAH held a 5-2 advantage to take the 25-22 Set 1 win as Smith provided the final kill in the set.
The second set began with another UAH point as Smith provided the opening kill before both sides began trading points. The sides were tied seven times by the time Lee won the 15th point to move to a media timeout with a one point advantage over the Chargers. From there, however, UAH scored the next three points to move ahead, 17-15. The Chargers eventually moved ahead with a 21-18 lead courtesy kills from Mary Grace Bundrant and Ella Schumacher to tie the largest lead UAH held the entire set. Lee pushed UAH to the end, though, as the Flames tied the set at 23 before Kayla Ward gave the Chargers set point on a kill before UAH earned a 25-23 Set 2 win on an attack error from Lee.
While Lee won the first two points of the third set, both sides traded the next several points with nine ties over the next several rallies, the last coming at 11-11. That closeness evaporated, though, as UAH began to take control of the set, starting with a 4-0 run led off by a kill from Bundrant. Though Lee took a pair of points over the next few rallies, UAH took a five-point run to push its lead to 21-13 before Lee could score again. Lee scored two more points before the end of the match, but a 4-1 UAH run to end the match provided the Chargers a match-deciding 25-15 win in Set 3.
IN THE STATS
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Kayla Ward led the offensive attack for UAH with 12 kills on a 0.579 hitting percentage. Emily Redman was next up for the Chargers with eight kills while Mary Grace Bundrant added six while Emily Schumacher and Amelia Smith both scored five.
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Cooper Garrett led the team with 22 assists while Anna Clare Hutto added nine more.
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UAH totaled 7.0 team blocks while Ward totaled five blocks with one solo and four assists. Redman added three more assists while Garrett recorded a solo and assist block.
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Redman and Sydney Durban tied for a team-high 10 digs while Garrett added six, Hutto four and Stiles three.
COMING UP
The Chargers go on the road for their next two matches with a trip to West Alabama on Friday, Oct. 30, before traveling to Mississippi Christian on Saturday.
