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Lady Chargers to kick off GSC Tournament Friday
The Lady Chargers caught a bit of a break going into this weekend's Gulf South Conference tournament. Seedings changed after West Florida was upset by Lincoln Memorial on Saturday. The loss by the Argonauts dropped them into a tie with UAH at 9-5 in the GSC. The Lady Chargers have the tie-breaker over UWF which moves them into third place. The Lady Chargers will now move from the last game of the day against Harding to the first game against No. 2 seed Southern Arkansas at noon on Friday. The Lady Chargers beat SAU earlier this season in a five-game battle at the Henderson State Invitational. Meanwhile, West Florida gets Harding in the first round. In other first round matchups, east top seed North Alabama faces Henderson State and Montevallo plays Central Arkansas.The Lady Charger defense made the plays that the team needed against visiting West Alabama in a 3-0 Senior Night sweep. UWA hit only .067 for the match, with 34 kills and 25 errors. Meanwhile, the UAH attack was improved over their match on Wednesday night at Montevallo. The Lady Chargers had 48 kills and hit .210 for the match.
Sophomore Emily Miller led the Lady Chargers with 12 kills. Senior Daniella Bragg had 10 digs, while sophomore Samantha Polkowski finished with 25 assists. Freshman setter Natalie Katsikas also saw action in the match tallying 17 assists.
The match was tight throughout. After taking the first game 30-24, the Lady Chargers had to battle back from the brink in game two. UWA led 29-24 and was poised to even the match at a game apiece. Then, with senior Mary Beth Key serving, UAH scored six unanswered points to take a 30-29 lead. The Lady Tigers tied the score at 30-all, but UAH got the final two points to earn the 32-30 win.
The Lady Charger comeback seemed to take the fight out of the Tigers. UAH jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the clinching game and never trailed. UWA did scrap their way back to tie the game at 20-20. However, the Lady Chargers fought off the assault. Key put the nail in the coffin with three straight kills, giving UAH a 30-25 victory.
The University of Montevallo secured the No. 2 seed in the Gulf South Conference tournament with a convincing three-game sweep of UAH on Wednesday night. The Lady Falcons' 30-24, 30-26, 30-25 win drops the Lady Chargers into the fourth slot in the GSC East.
The UAH offense was dismal, hitting only .060 for the match. The Lady Chargers managed only 34 kills. Junior middle blocker Melissa Feldmann was the only UAH player in double figures with 11 kills. Sophomore leading scorer Emily Miller was held to three kills, but she was solid on defense with 14 digs. Senior Mary Beth Key finished with 15 digs.
Montevallo hitter Alice Persinova led all scorers with a match-high 18 kills. Gabo Raposo added 14 and Fabyanna Castro 10.
