CLINTON, Mississippi – Less than 24 hours after securing the top spot in the Gulf South Conference Volleyball Championship, the University of Alabama in Huntsville continued to cement its control in the conference with a 3-1 win at Mississippi Christian.
The Chargers (23-2, 15-1 GSC) were pushed to four sets, but secured its second win of the season against the Choctaws (11-17, 8-8) after taking a 3-1 win at home on Oct. 2. Anna Clare Hutto got the match started with a service ace before Ella Schumacher helped UAH secure a 2-0 start with a solo block. The Chargers pressed their momentum early as they took a 8-3 lead before the Choctaws began to battle back, coming within one point of tying the score at 9-8 and again at 11-10. UAH, though, never allowed Mississippi Christian to catch up as the Chargers maintained their lead the entirety of the set. Though the middle of the set saw a fair trade of points, UAH finished off the first set on an 8-3 run to earn a 25-19 win as Emily Redman, Cooper Garrett and Amelia Smith collected kills while Smith and Redman each also added a solo block.
In a similar fashion to Set 1, the second set started off with UAH moving ahead. Mary Grace Bundrant started off Set 2 with a solo block before notching a kill on the ensuing rally. UAH moved ahead to a 7-2 lead before the Choctaws rallied to move ahead, 11-9. The Chargers tied the score twice through the next several exchanges, but the Choctaws forced a set point with a 24-21 advantage. UAH, though, refused to allow the set to slip by as the Chargers scored five straight times to push the set into extra time for a 26-24 win as Garrett scored a pair of kills and Redman one while Sydney Durban served up an ace before Kayla Ward pulled off the solo block for the set-winning point.
Set 3 began with another UAH point, but the early exchanges fell the way of the Choctaws as the host team built a 9-4 lead before the Chargers began to pull the score back. The Chargers brought the score within one point, 9-10, but Mississippi Christian maintained its lead in the set before pulling away for a 25-17 win to cut into the UAH set lead, 2-1.
For the fourth set in a row, the Chargers opened with the first point as Smith earned a kill. UAH continued to put the pressure on the Choctaws as they opened the set with a 4-1 lead before Mississippi Christian answered by tying the score at 4-4. Both sides tied the score twice more before UAH moved ahead amidst a 6-0 run to take a 11-7 lead. The Chargers never relinquished their lead the remainder of the set as the Choctaws were held to a minimum of two-point margin the remainder of the set. The Chargers closed out the set with a 25-18 win to take the match as Ward scored a kill to force match point before the Choctaws committed an attack error on the final exchange of the match.
IN THE STATS
COMING UP
The Chargers return home for their final two regular season matches with Valdosta State at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 6, and a 2 p.m. match against AUM on Saturday.
