PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida volleyball program claimed its seventh Gulf South Conference championship with a 3-0 sweep of North Alabama in the UWF Field House Sunday afternoon. The victory was one of the team's most impressive efforts of the season. The Argos piled up 13 blocks and hit .364 as a team to earn the title.
 
For their weekend performances, Jordyn Poppen, Monique StCyr and Rachel Neblett were named to the GSC All-Tournament team, and Neblett was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament after tallying 23 kills, hitting .512 over the two matches, and totaling 11 blocks.
 
"There were goals we had set coming into the match, trying to treat it like any other match," head coach Melissa Wolter said. "The girls were super focused, and at some point it comes down to who executes their game plan better and who weathers storms better.
 
"At the end of the day, this was a really nice way to finish off our conference home season."

Rachel Neblett and Jordyn Poppen led the way, with Neblett accumulating 11 kills, 7 assists and 6 blocks hitting .526 and Poppen registering 13 kills while hitting .429. Caleigh Morrison hit .421 and posted eight kills and six blocks. Nadine Williams notched 12 digs and added 6 kills. Monique StCyr posted  a .714 hitting percentage and led the team with 32 assists. Logan Kael paced the team with 16 digs. Katy Kuhlmeier added four blocks.
 
The Argos outhit UNA .364 to .163 for the match. The Lions committed 19 errors for the afternoon versus just six for the home team.
 
"Every time we play UNA, it's a grudge match," Neblett said. "We have so much respect for them, they have so much respect for us, and it's so much fun to play them. To finally get that trophy, it's really great."
 
The first set in the match would prove to be the closest. With the score tied 3-3, UWF reeled off a 12-6 run. North Alabama tightened the set back up with a 6-2 rally to make it 17-15 before the Argos earned a 25-19 victory with an 8-4 final blitz. Neblett posted five kills, two blocks and two assists while hitting .833 in the first. Poppen registered four kills and combined with Morrison for a block that ended the set. UWF outhit North Alabama .375 to .250 in the first. The Argos committed just two errors vs. five for the Lions.
 
The Argos ran away with the second 25-13. The set featured seven blocks from UWF. The Argos put together an early 16-4 run that essentially iced the set at 19-7. Morrison was a part of four blocks in the set and added two kills. Neblett posted four kills and was a part of two blocks.
 
UWF completed the convincing victory with a 25-17 finale win. With the lead at 14-10, the Argos reeled off a 7-3 run to grow the lead to 21-13. Back-to-back kills from StCyr would make it 23-14 before final kills by Morrison and Poppen clinched the championship.
 
The Argos have now won 11 matches and 27 sets in a row. The GSC championship was the team's first since 2013. It was the first time West Florida has swept a GSC Tournament final since downing Christian Brothers 3-0 in 2012.