MONTEVALLO, Ala. – On a night where UWF dug nearly 100 balls, the Argonauts found a way to hold off a feisty Montevallo team and earn a 3-2 road victory at Trustmark Arena Friday night.
UWF (14-5, 7-0 Gulf South Conference) won the first two sets and appeared ready to get a win without going to distance but Montevallo made things tough for the Argonauts.
Jordyn Poppen led the team with 17 kills and registered a career high in digs for the second-consecutive night, picking up 27. She also had three service aces.
Veresia Yon had 16 kills and seven blocks.
The Argos hit just .158, their lowest in a win since last year's GSC title match when they were held to a .152 clip.
The first set went back and forth. UWF used a 5-0 run to stake a 14-9 lead before UM countered with a 6-0 run later in the set to go up 21-19. The Falcons were serving at 23-22 when the Argos came out of a timeout with three-consecutive points for a 25-23 win.
UWF came out and scored the opening six points in the second set, with three kills from Von, two from
Kierra Potts and another from
Taylor Vaneekeren. They never let UM get closer than five points until late in the frame before claiming the final two points for a 25-20 decision.
The third set had 10 tied and one lead change. The change went in UM's favor with a blocking error and hitting error committed by UWF when the Argos were leading 10-9. They were never able to regain the lead in a 26-24 UM set win.
The Argos led the fourth frame 13-11 and 17-16 but allowed the Falcons to go on runs of 5-0 and 4-1 to force a fifth set with a 25-19 win.
In the fifth set, UWF had to fight back from a 9-6 hole. An they did it with defense, Over the course of a 9-4 run to close the match, three of the UWF points came on blocks and another on a UM hitting error. UWF had 14 blocks for the third time in the last four matches.
The Argos had 99 digs which is the ninth most in a match in program history and tie for the sixth most in the GSC this season. UWF also won its fifth-consecutive 5-set match and improved to 5-1 in those in 2019.
UM (10-8, 4-2) was led offensively by Desiree Rodriguez with 15 kills. Danielle Lee added a career-high 14 winners while Hannah Fernandez posted a career-best 10 blocks.
UWF will step out of conference play for its next four matches, beginning Tuesday night at home against Belhaven. The contest is the team's annual Pack It Pink match with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. at the UWF Field House.
