It was a definite bitter-sweet week for the Lady Chargers. The Lady Chargers began the week by sliding to the edge, but just holding on to a spot in the AVCA Division II top 25 at No. 24. Then, the Lady Chargers celebrated by being wasted on its home floor by 2nd ranked UNA.

The week ended with a pair of 5-game matches in Missouri. The Lady Chargers would have to settle for a split after winning the first two games of each match against Missouri Western State and Truman State. The Lady Chargers survived the furious comeback by Missouri Western, but completely fell apart against No. 5 Truman State.

On the bright side, senior middle blocker Ellen LaFiore broke the UAH record for career kills against UNA when she smacked seven kills. She now has 2,177 kills in her career as a Lady Charger.

Also sophomore middle blocker Melissa Feldmann was named Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending September 23rd. It was Feldmann's first GSC honor in her UAH career.

The 5-11, Villa Ridge, MO native registered 37 digs (2.85 dpg) and 10 blocks (0.77 bpg) in 13 games as the Chargers went 2-1 during the week of September 23. In all three matches, she recorded double-figure digs, including a week-high 13 against Montevallo.

North Alabama def UAH 30-23, 30-22, 30-18

It wasn't pretty. The well-oiled killing machine from Florence proved why AVCA coaches have them ranked No. 2 in the country. The homestanding Lady Chargers could do very little to stop the purple tidal wave that engulfed them, as UNA hammered their way to a 3-0 win.

The dominating performance by the visiting Lions overshadowed the fact that senior middle blocker Ellen LaFiore became UAH's all-time kills leader.

Erin Denny led the Lady Chargers with 11 kills. She was the only UAH player with double-figure kills. LaFiore was held to seven kills on 30 attempts. She also had six uncharacteristic errors.

UNA controlled the match from the first serve. The largest lead for the Lady Chargers was 5-3 in the first game. However, a kill by Angie McLeod gave the Lions a 16-15 lead, and from there things got really dark for UAH. From there, UNA went on a 10-4 run to take a commanding 26-19 lead. The Lions went on to cruise, 30-23 to take game one.

In the second game, the Lions led all the way. The largest lead was eight points by UNA, 22-14. The Lions matched that later in the game, grabbing a 25-17 advantage. The Lady Chargers never could cut into the lead and went on to fall 30-22.

UNA took control of the final game early, rolling out to a 7-1 lead. The Lady Chargers got to within four at 11-7 when Whitney Mock knocked home one of her three kills on the evening. However, UNA fought off the rally and clinched the match with a 30-18 win.

UAH def. Missouri Western State 30-27, 30-18, 32-34, 26-30, 15-10

The Lady Chargers came out fired up, trying to forget the whipping by UNA on its home floor. It looked like it was going to be an easy night as the Lady Chargers rolled in the first two games against Missouri Western State in front of a large crowd of over 500 at the MWSC Fieldhouse.

However, the homestanding Griffons refused to fold up their tents. In the third game, MWSC pulled off a 34-32 win. Then, in the fourth game, the Griffons outgunned the Lady Chargers 30-26.

It looked like things were slipping away for UAH. But, in the final game, the Lady Chargers got off of the mat and after 2 1/2 hours, sealed the match with a 15-10 victory.

Ellen LaFiore paced the Lady Chargers with 21 kills and 21 digs. Lindsay Dunham finished with 16 kills, Melissa Feldmann 15 and Erin Denny 12. Cathryn Sterling had 10 digs, and Jane Baumgartner finished with 64 assists.

Truman State def. UAH 28-30, 21-30, 30-20, 30-16, 15-5

The Lady Chargers had their chances on Saturday after rolling of the box against No. 5 Truman State. UAH won the first two games 30-28 and 30-21. But, the lack of killer instinct came back to bite the Lady Chargers as the homestanding Lady Bulldogs swept the next three games 30-20, 30-16, 15-5 to hand the Lady Chargers their sixth loss of the season.

After controlling the first two games, the Lady Chargers went down hill. UAH had 22 kills and hit .327 in the first game. Things began to cool in the second game as the Lady Chargers only hit .292 on 18 kills (48 attempts).

Neither team hit well in the third game. The Lady Chargers managed only 12 kills and had a hitting percentage of .096. Although Truman State only hit .197 for the game, they did have 20 kills.

In the final two games, the Lady Bulldogs hit well over .300, including .381 in the fourth game. Meanwhile, the Lady Chargers, after leading the match 2-0, disintegrated. UAH had three kills and five errors in 17 attempts in the final game.

In addition to hitting poorly down the stretch, the Lady Chargers had five service errors and gave up 10 aces to Truman State.

The loss overshadowed another good outing for Ellen LaFiore, who had 15 kills and 21 digs in the match. Melissa Feldmann added 14 kills, while freshman Kristian Kleminsky and Erin Denny had 13 kills each. Lindsay Dunham tallied 10 kills and 17 digs for UAH and Jane Baumgartner contributed 59 assists and 13 digs.

This Week's Matches: Tuesday, Oct. 2 vs. West Georgia, 7 p.m. at Spragins Hall (Only Match Scheduled)

AVCA Poll (9/25/01)

Rank	School (First-Place-Votes)	Pts	Record	LW
1	Hawai'i Pacific (30)		858	11-0	1
2	North Alabama (4)		817	12-1	3
3	West Texas A&M 		782	12-2	4
4	Western State, Colo.		760	13-1	5
5	Truman (1)			716	16-1	7
6	Cal State-San Bernardino 	697	13-1	2
7	North Dakota State 		672	15-2	8
8	Barry			617	10-1	9
9	South Dakota State 		610	12-2	10
10	University of Tampa		554	9-2	6
11	Metro State		540	12-3	11
12	Nebraska-Kearney 		484	13-2	12
13	Regis			458	11-5	14
14	Cal State-Bakersfield		416	7-2	16
15	Augustana, S.D.		408	9-5	13
16	Grand Valley State		310	14-2	17
17	Rockhurst			300	18-1	15
18	Central Missouri State	271	13-3	18
19	Northern Michigan		235	13-2	20
20	Northwood, Mich.		197	11-3	19
21	UC San Diego		182	9-2	23
22	Northern Kentucky		138	9-4	24
23	Cameron 			118	12-3	25
24	Alabama-Huntsville		82	12-4	21
25	Michigan Tech		28	8-4	NR

Others receiving points and listed on two or more ballots:  
BYU-Hawai'i (26); North Florida (15); 
Western Washington (15); Seattle Pacific (14); 
Armstrong Atlantic State (11); Cal State L.A. (11); 
Mercy (9); North Dakota (6); Findlay (3); 
Montevallo (3).