PENSACOLA, Fla. – University of West Florida women's volleyball (16-4, 7-0 GSC) piled up 15 blocks on the way to a 13th straight win Tuesday, downing rival North Alabama 3-2 in a thriller at the UWF Field House. Rachel Neblett turned in a signature performance, registering 11 kills, ten digs and five blocks, including two final blocks to close the fifth set and help UWF earn a 16-14 tiebreaker victory. Caleigh Morrison posted 14 kills and seven total blocks to set new career highs in both categories. The win was the second this season vs. UNA (16-4, 6-1 GSC) for the No. 23 Argos.
The Lions captured a hard-fought first set by a final of 25-20. Neblett had three kills in the first set, and Morrison added a kill and two blocks. The set was tight at 19-17 before a final 6-3 run by the Lions put them up 1-0.
UWF responded well to the early loss, staging a 10-3 run after the teams played evenly 4-4 in the early part of the second. Neblett was key in the big run, scoring three kills during the rally and five total in the set. Morrison was again solid, picking up four kills and two more blocks in the set. Reigning GSC Freshman of the Week Logan Kael continued an excellent defensive effort on her way to a team-high 24 digs. West Florida enjoyed its largest margin of victory on the night, scoring a 25-18 win in the second to tie the match 1-1. The team hit .347 in the second, its highest percentage of the match.
UNA took the third by a final of 25-22 despite two kills and three more blocks from Morrison. Katy Kuhlmeier picked up four kills in the set. The third stood tied at 20-20 before a 5-2 run by the Lions put them up 2-1 in the match.
Facing their first loss since September 9, the Argos responded well in the fourth, scoring a 25-20 win to force the tiebreaker. Morrison picked up four late kills to help bury the Lions after UWF built a 19-15 lead. Taylor Hall had two kills and one block in the set. Neblett had three assists and one block.
UWF took an early lead in the finale, building leads of 5-3 and 10-6 at UNA timeouts. The Lions refused to go quietly though, roaring back from a 12-7 deficit to tie it at 14-14. Neblett and Kuhlmeier then combined to register two straight blocks to give UWF a 16-14 finale win.
The match was the first five-set victory of the year for UWF and the first the team has been a part of since falling to Florida Southern at the Colorado Premier Challenge September 9. The win was the first time the Argos have comeback from a 2-1 defeicit vs. a conference opponent at home since the November 24, 2013 GSC championship match vs. West Georgia.
Monique StCyr led the team with 35 assists. She also registered four kills and hit .667 for the match. Brogan Wallin finished with 12 assists. Hall finished with five blocks. StCyr, Neblett and Sarah Hayman each had one service ace. UWF hit .193 for the match vs. .150 for UNA. The Argos have now recorded 31 total blocks over the last two matches.
The result will not count toward either team's conference record, though it will count toward each team's regional record and NCAA Division II record. With the GSC moving from a 20-match schedule to a 16-match schedule, the teams agreed to schedule a non-conference matchup to benefit each side's strength of schedule.
The No. 23 Argos will next take part in the South Region Crossover in Birmingham, Alabama this weekend. The team's first match of three matches at the tournament will be Friday at 4:45 vs. Rollins.
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