NASHVILLE – The University of Alabama in Huntsville capped its first day of competition with a second straight win at the Ray Thrasher Classic. The Chargers earned a 3-2 win against Shorter to close out Friday's competition.
The Chargers took control of the early portion of Set 1 with nine straight points as Ella Schumacher kicked off the match with her first of three kills in the set. A pair of service aces from Emily Redman, and kills from Schumacher and Kayla Ward, led UAH to its 9-0 lead. While Shorter climbed back into contention, the Chargers maintained their lead to take a 25-20 win. Cooper Garrett led the Chargers with four kills while Schumacher and Carlee Lowry each added another three through the set.
Shorter took the initial lead to begin Set 2, but UAH struck back and knotted the score a couple points into the frame. Neither side managed to separate themselves by more than three points until UAH extended its lead to 19-15. The four-point lead proved to be the largest margin of the set as UAH earned a 25-22 to take a 2-0 lead. Schumacher, Redman, Ward and Lowry each hit a pair of kills through the set while Calli Tanielu scored a pair of points off service aces.
The third set fell the way of Shorter as UAH fell behind 5-1 to begin the exchange. The Chargers cut the score close with a 3-1 sequence as Schumacher hit a pair of kills to kickstart the run. The set fell the way of Shorter the remainder of the set as UAH dropped Set 3, 25-18.
The fourth set of the match fell the way of Shorter to even the score, 2-2. A trio of Chargers, Schumacher, Redman and Ward each scored three kills in the set. Ward also notched a pair of solo blocks as UAH remained in contention until the very end until Shorter took the set, 25-21.
UAH took the initial lead to start the fifth set with a pair of points off errors from Shorter. Each side traded points and the lead over the next few exchanges until UAH scored four straight to take a 10-7 lead with Garrett hitting a pair kills through the sequence. Shorter tied the score, 10-10, but UAH responded with a pair of back-to-back kills, courtesy Redman, to retake the lead, 12-10. While Shorter again tied the score at 12, UAH responded with another two points to take the score to match point. Shorter tied the score at 14, but the Chargers pulled away with kills from Redman and Lowry to clinch the 16-14 win in Set 5.
IN THE STATS
COMING UP
The Chargers close out the Ray Thrasher Classic with a final match against Lincoln Memorial at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
