MOBILE, Ala. - After taking the first two sets and dropping the next two, UWF (19-6, 11-0 GSC) took control of the final frame in a tense five-setter to claim a crucial 3-2 (25-20, 25-23, 18-25, 18-25, 15-6) nonconference win over Spring Hill (26-4, 18-0 SIAC) Friday evening at Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center.
 
The Badgers actually outhit the Argos .188 to .170, committing 11 less errors, and blocked 15 attempts to just four for the latter. However, the Argos won the percentage battle in the first, second and fifth sets and tallied more kills, assists, digs and aces. West Florida kept its unbeaten streak against Spring Hill intact. After having 18 consecutive matches in the series won in just three sets, the Argonauts have had their Mobile rival take the last two meetings to the fifth set. 
 
UWF started slow in the opening period, as the hosts claimed several three-point leads, the last of which was 10-7. The visitors scored the next four off two errors, a block by Jenna Zydlo and Annie Monaco and a Monaco kill. After SHC in turn scored the next four points, the Argonauts ripped off a 6-0 run to take control of the set. Three more Badger errors helped their cause, and Monaco sent two more balls to the floor and assisted Gabi Moulton's kill. Bailee Sterling and Monaco split up three of their team's final points, and Jacque Martin ended the frame with a kill of her own. 
 
Again, Spring Hill opened a set with an early lead, and again, it didn't matter to these Argos. Trailing by scores as big as 10-5 and 13-6, UWF opened a 6-1 span in which Monaco took over again, this time with two kills and an ace. Zydlo sent down back-to-back kills, and Damyah Joyner added one. The teams went back and forth with UWF pulling within one and eventually tying the game before the Badgers took a 23-22 lead. At this point, longtime SHC head coach Peggy Martin took a timeout that the Argos used to regroup. Sterling and Monaco promptly registered kills before Jacque Martin ended a set for the second time, this one via ace. 
 
Spring Hill refused to go quietly, utilizing a 7-0 early run and a 7-2 one to close out the third set before an 8-1 stretch put the SIAC side in position to tuck away Set 4 and tie up the match. With all the momentum seemingly on the side of the Badgers, the Blue and Green came back on the court for the final set with a vengeance. 
 
After each team scored two in a row, a service error put it in the hands of libero Meg Brackhan, and she did not leave the service line until her team had an 8-2 lead. The same big playmakers made big plays, as Joyner and Sterling both had a kill and split on a block, and Martin added a kill following an ace from Brackhan. Martin then responded to the third SHC point with consecutive kills before scoring an ace after Monaco answered another Badger point with a kill. With a 12-6 lead, the Argos left Mobile with a win thanks to the final 3-0 span consisting of one more kill apiece from Sterling and Monaco and a block by Monaco and Zydlo.  
 
By the time she finished frustrating the Badger defense, Monaco tied her personal best of 17 kills, which she reached twice during her time at Robert Morris, while simultaneously flustering the Spring Hill defense with a career-high 20 digs and three block assists. A pair of seniors in Sterling and Martin finished with identical stat lines of 12 kills and five scoops, and Martin added four aces to her docket. Joyner produced the team's top individual percentage mark with .455 and 11 kills to just one miscue. Brackhan added 13 assists to add to Monaco's playmaking on defense. Freshman Gabi Moulton was once again the key facilitator for the offense with 31 assists, and redshirt senior Stephanie Barber added 10 more.
 
The team makes the short trip back home tonight ahead of their Senior Day matchup tomorrow against Valdosta State at 12:30 pm.    
 
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