HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - West Florida volleyball (10-5, 5-0 GSC) claimed its biggest result of 2024 so far, grinding out tight battles in each set to knock off the No. 1 team in the Gulf South Conference in Alabama Huntsville (14-2, 5-1 GSC) on Saturday afternoon at Spragins Hall 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23) to take over the top spot. With the win, the Argos extend their winning streak over the Chargers to eight matches, a span that includes last year's 3-0 win in the GSC Championship contest. 
 
This matchup between the top two squads in the GSC was delayed just over an hour due to standing water on the court, so momentum and resilience was going to be the difference in this one. Senior middle blocker Jenna Zydlo ensured her team would have that and more, as she racked up 19 kills on just 27 swings for a wild .667 percentage in one of her many high-octane offensive outputs through her four years in the Blue and Green. On top of that, Emily Breazeale also had the hot hand, earning the third double-double of her career with 17 kills on a whopping 42 attacks with 12 digs and three block assists. 
 
The second-best hitting percentage belonged to Gabi Moulton with a .300 on four kills, but as per usual, she stole the show setting for the offense to the tune of 53 assists, the second-highest mark of her career, along with seven digs. Kumara Flanagain registered 11 kills on a .214 outing with a pair of block assists. Caiden Largent scored nine kills and five digs. Magdalena Vongkasemsiri assisted five blocks. Breazeale was one of four Argos with double-digit scoops, as Meg Brackhan led there with 20 with a pair of aces, Taylor Teaman put up 15 and Camryn Brooks added 11.
 
The hosts jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start the match, and after the Argos knotted things up, the Chargers used two more 3-0 runs in response to UWF pushes to lead 15-10. Breazeale took it from here with a pair of kills and an ace to pull within two, and after another UAH point, a kill by Vongkasemsiri and an ace by Brackhan got them within one. The hosts stretched the lead back to three here, but the Argos said no more and ripped off a 6-0 run with three consecutive kills from Zydlo, two from Largent and one by Breazeale, with five of the six kills assisted by Moulton. Leading 23-20 after serve exchanges, Zydlo's kill brought it to set point before a block between Vongkasemsiri and Breazeale ended the opening frame.
 
UAH would then lead off the second frame with a 2-0 lead before later going up 6-3. The Argonauts responded with identical runs to tie things up each time, the first with kills by Teaman and Breazeale and the second via two Largent kills and one from Flanagain. After the teams traded points for the fourth time in the frame, the hosts went up 9-7 on a kill and ace by Autumn Mayes. With its backs against the wall again, West Florida took control again. A UAH service error was the start of a 7-0 run with kills from Brooks and Breazeale, an ace by Brooks, a pair of errors and a block by Breazeale and Zydlo to go up 14-9. In response to the Chargers scratching back a point, Breazeale and Moulton scored kills with each assisting the other. The teams traded points until point 25 was scored by the Argos, with Largent coming up with the kills that gave her team set point and the 2-0 match lead.
 
The script got completely flipped on the Argos in the third, as they grabbed a quick 3-0 lead but the Chargers clapped back with a 7-0 run to lead 8-4. The teams went back and forth with UWF creeping back in it, especially with a 4-0 run to get within one at 19-18 thanks to an error and kills by Flanagain, Breazeale and Zydlo. That would be the closest the latter would get as the teams traded points until UAH responded to Breazeale kills that gave UWF points 22 and 24 with the set point and the set clincher, respectively.
 
The Argos had seen this movie before in their reverse sweep loss to Florida Tech and weren't going down that road again, even after the Chargers took leads of 7-5, 21-18 and 23-21. After the first, Zydlo scored a pair of kills that preceded and followed an attack error to put her team up 8-7 and another for 9-8. The teams traded points for a while before Delaney Hanowell registered a kill to go up 17-16 and another following a pair of UAH points to tie the set again at 18 apiece. 
 
A kill from Mayes and two by Caroline Moyer brought the second of the aforementioned advantages, but after the teams traded kills from Flanagain and Mayes, Zydlo added two more crucial kills off Moulton dishes to get her team within one. Then, when a service error put the Chargers one point away from set point, the Argos stood tall once more, promptly forcing a service error the opposite way to get within one. From here, the same scoring mavens showed out with the game on the line, as Breazeale earned her final kill to tie things up, an error brought it to set point and Zydlo sent one more ball home to cap off her outstanding day and the clinching of the No. 1 spot in the GSC with a flourish.
 
UWF stays on the road for one more match in Alabama in this road stretch as they head south and take on Auburn Montgomery at 6 pm on Wednesday night. The Argos have a score to settle with the Warhawks, as they lost in five sets in their last trip to Alabama's capital in their only GSC loss of 2023 and their lone setback in the 12-match history between the programs. Only two of UWF's 11 wins over AUM have taken more than three sets. 
 
For more information, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the program at @UWFVolleyball on Facebook, X and Instagram.