BOX SCORE
POST-GAME NOTES

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -  The bitter taste of defeat left from the University of West Florida volleyball's five-set setback in the Gulf South Conference Championship against North Alabama just 11 days ago was sweetly replaced with a first-round, four-set win over UNA in the first round of the NCAA South Regional on Thursday.

West Florida (26-9) earns its first NCAA South Regional win since defeating Rollins on Dec. 6, 2013. UWF will play No. 1 seed Palm Beach Atlantic tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. ET in NCAA South Regional Semifinals.

"That was great volleyball. It's a raw deal, it's a tough deal, to have to play the only other team from our conference that's here, but that's how the tournament works," stated head coach Melissa Wolter. "I'm extremely proud of our team for weathering the storm in the second set, when things just didn't seem to be going our way."

Early in the first set, UWF asserted its dominance by using a pair of Rachel Neblett service aces to gain a 5-1 advantage. West Florida eventually jumped ahead to a 1-0 lead in the match behind a 25-21 first-set win, which featured an impressive performance from Corisha Smith, who had four kills and one error on eight swings. 

West Florida, who has won the first set in 32 of 35 matches this year, suffered a defeat in the second game for the third consecutive time against the Lions. North Alabama (28-6) hit .258 while holding UWF to a .097 rate to even the match at 1-1. 

Like the three meetings prior, UWF responded with a third-set victory behind Cora Bidlack recording an astounding seven kills on 13 attempts in the third set. West Florida applied another hot start in the fourth set by catapulting to a 5-0 lead behind a pair of Bidlack kills and a service ace from Monique StCyr.

UWF continued the trend of hot starts, as the Argonauts held a 10-1 advantage early on. However, UNA was not down for the count as the Lions posted a 9-2 run when facing a 13-3 deficit to face a slim15-12 shortage midway through the set. Katy Kuhlmeier came through in the clutch late in the set, recording back-to-back kills to give UWF a 23-18 lead before the Argos went on to win the set, 25-20.

"I think one of the greatest things about our program is that we truly are a staple in this tournament. We expect to be here regardless of the outcome of the conference championship, so I was happy that we were in position to come back and get another shot. These seniors expected this, they expected to win here, and regardless of what happened in the last couple of years, this was a fresh year, and they're relentless." said Wolter.

Smith eclipsed the 1,000 kill mark for her career, recording 13 to give the senior 1,001 for her career. Bidlack posted match-highs in kills, with 13, and hitting percentage, at .455. The 13 kills for Bidlack was also a new season-high for the senior. 

Neblett contributed 12 kills and three blocks to join in on the offensive parade.

"North Alabama is a fantastic team," stated Neblett. "They're super athletic and every time we play them, we go in with the mindset knowing it's going to be great volleyball."

Monique StCyr added a match-best 42 assists with a strong .420 setting percentage.

Tori Martella led the defensive effort with 13 digs, helping UWF limit UNA to a .140 hitting percentage in the match. Kathryn Torre posted eight blocks divided between six block assists and a pair of solo blocks.

After playing UNA for the fourth time this year, UWF will meet up with PBA for the first time since falling to the Sailfish in the first round of the 2014 South Regional.

"When you play a new opponent, it's back to the drawing board," stated Bidlack. "You have to go look at their video, you don't know what they're like live, so I think it's going to be a game of adjustments."

For information on all UWF athletics, visit GoArgos.com.