Argonauts take second straight five set thriller

Shackelford and Duyn register double-doubles

Autumn Duyn had her ninth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 11 digs

Related Item: Box Score

LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Haley Shackelford had a match-high-tying 17 kills to lead the No. 21 West Florida volleyball team to its second straight five set thriller over a Gulf South Conference opponent. The Argonauts came back from a six point deficit in the fifth set to defeat West Alabama 3-2 (25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 16-14) Thursday evening.

Shackelford (Colorado Springs, Colo./Yavapai) hit at a .359 rate for the evening, and Autumn Duyn (Venice, Fla./Venice HS) and Sarah Scott (Plainfield, Ill./Texas-San Antonio) had 14 and 10 kills, respectively. K.C. Dobbins (Winston-Salem, N.C./Arkansas) had a team-high 27 assists while four Argonauts had double-digit digs, including Duyn with 11 and Shackelford with 10 to give them double-doubles.

A strong .333 attack rate lifted West Florida (9-6, 6-1 GSC) over West Alabama (9-7, 2-5 GSC) in the first set despite falling behind a few points early. Well-timed kills by Shackelford, Duyn and Scott coupled with multiple Lion attack errors gave UWF a 21-17 lead which it maintained for a 25-21 win. The Argonauts took the momentum into the second game, where they grabbed the lead and never relinquished it to cruise to a 25-20 victory.

West Alabama fought back in the third frame, and after trading leads took control late with five kills for a 23-18 advantage. West Florida fought back within two 23-21, but the Lions took the set 25-21. The fourth set was the closest of the match with 14 ties until the 20-20 mark when West Alabama used a 5-1 run to tie up the match by winning the frame 25-21.

The Argonauts had to overcome a large 8-2 deficit after the Lions used four straight kills to open up the fifth frame, but did so with no errors while taking advantage of some by West Alabama to tie up the set 11-11. Three ties ensued before a kill by Christine Bach (Jacksonville, Fla./Florida State College at Jacksonville) and an attack error gave West Florida the set 16-14 and the win.

Tazra Pitts tied Shackelford with 17 kills for the evening while four other Lions also had double-figure kills. Chelsea Payne had 57 assists and Cynthia Smith had 17 digs.

West Florida takes a week off before returning to its home court next Thursday at 7 p.m. when it hosts Valdosta State as part of Homecoming Week. For information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.

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                            Short Box Score (Match)
                          2012 West Florida Volleyball
             #21 West Florida vs UWA (Sep 27, 2012 at Livingston, Ala.)

  No. 21 West Florida def. UWA 25-21,25-20,21-25,21-25,16-14

  West Florida (9-6,6-1 GSC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Haley Shackelford
  17-2-1; Autumn Duyn 14-1-1; Sarah Scott 10-1-3; Lindsay Homme 9-2-2;
  Christine Bach 7-0-1; Sierra Hansen 2-0-0; Jenny Bellairs 2-0-0; KC
  Dobbins 1-0-0; Colleen Starrs 0-1-0; Totals 62-7-6.0. (Assists) - KC
  Dobbins 27; Sierra Hansen 16. (Dig leaders) - Autumn Duyn 11; Colleen
  Starrs 11; Haley Shackelford 10; KC Dobbins 10

  UWA (9-7,2-5 GSC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Tazra Pitts 17-0-4; Sadie Beam
  15-0-1; Chanel Davis 12-1-4; Morgan Ray 11-1-0; Carly Wehling 11-2-0;
  Abigail McKenzie 1-0-0; Chelsea Payne 1-2-0; Cynthia Smith 0-1-0;
  Totals 68-7-6.0. (Assists) - Chelsea Payne 57. (Dig leaders) - Cynthia
  Smith 17; Noel Corbin 8; Casey Williams 8

  Site: Livingston, Ala. (Pruitt Hall)
  Date: Sep 27, 2012   Attend: 122   Time: 2:06   
  Referees: Danny Humbers, Kenny Dawkins

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