PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida volleyball team (11-3, 3-1 ASUN) battled back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Bellarmine (9-8, 3-3 ASUN) in five sets on Friday at PenAir Field House. The Argonauts hit .394 in the fourth set and .364 in the fifth to secure the comeback victory.
West Florida opened the first set with consecutive kills from Karyna Werley and another from Aniston Cochran to take an early 3-0 lead. Bellarmine responded to even the score at 4-4 before a Maddie Mire service ace and a Gabi Moulton kill put the Argos back in front. Kills from Kumara Flanagain, Werley and Cochran helped extend the advantage to 16-11 before West Florida pushed its lead to 21-15 behind a Moulton ace and an Emily Breazeale kill. A Delaney Hanowell kill gave the Argos a 22-17 advantage, but Bellarmine responded with eight unanswered points, including a pair of service aces from Maddie Carnes, to steal the opening set 25-22.
After falling behind 3-1 to begin the second set, West Florida responded with nine consecutive points to take a commanding 10-3 lead. Mire served eight straight points during the run, which featured kills from Cochran and Breazeale, a block by Moulton and Cochran, and a Mire service ace. The Argos maintained control and extended their advantage to 19-9 on a Werley kill before Bellarmine answered with six straight points to cut the deficit to four. West Florida regained momentum behind kills from Breazeale, Hanowell and Moulton before Werley secured the 25-19 set victory with a kill.
The third set remained competitive early before Bellarmine used a five-point run to turn a 9-7 advantage into a 14-7 lead. West Florida attempted to chip away at the deficit behind three kills from Breazeale, but the Knights maintained control and extended their lead to 22-14. The Argos responded with a four-point run behind consecutive kills and a block from Talya Sampson to pull within three at 22-19. Bellarmine halted the momentum with an Erika Smith kill and eventually secured the set 25-21 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Facing a potential defeat, West Florida responded with a strong fourth set. After a 2-2 tie, kills from Hanowell and Breazeale, along with a Camryn Brooks service ace, helped the Argos take an early advantage. Consecutive kills from Lizzy Kwiatkowski and Breazeale extended the lead to 8-3 before West Florida pushed its advantage to 16-9 behind contributions from Hanowell, Sampson and Kwiatkowski. Bellarmine responded with three consecutive points to pull within four, but the Argos answered with three straight kills from Breazeale and Cochran to regain control. West Florida continued to pull away before Breazeale closed out the set with a kill to secure a 25-18 victory and force a decisive fifth set.
Bellarmine opened the fifth set with a service ace, but West Florida quickly responded with consecutive kills from Breazeale, Cochran and Werley to take a 3-1 lead. The Argos extended their advantage to 6-2 behind another Cochran kill, a Bellarmine attack error and a Breazeale kill. The Knights attempted to rally, cutting the deficit to 9-6, but West Florida maintained its lead and pushed ahead 12-8 on a block by Werley and Hanowell. Following another Bellarmine point, Breazeale and Kwiatkowski recorded consecutive kills before a Knights attack error sealed the 15-9 victory.
Breazeale led the Argonauts with a match-high 19 kills while adding 12 digs for a double-double. Brooks anchored the defense with 20 digs and two service aces, while Werley finished with 27 assists, 11 digs, seven kills and three blocks. Cochran added 10 kills on a .400 hitting percentage while contributing four blocks.
UWF returns to action on Sunday, October 18, when the Argonauts host Lipscomb at 1 p.m. at PenAir Field House. Live stats will be available on GoArgos.com. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
For more information on the UWF volleyball program, visit GoArgos.com and follow the team on social media at @uwfvolleyball (Instagram) and @UWFVolleyball (X).
