MOBILE, Ala. - In front of the largest crowd Pharr Gymnasium has seen so far during the 2022 season, the University of Mobile Volleyball team hosted conference rival William Carey University on Tuesday, Oct. 4 for the first of two regular season meetings between the two teams. Tuesday's match was a scheduled blackout by the Mobile faithful as fans witnessed a great five-set match between two of the best volleyball teams in the SSAC.
Eventually, Mobile fell to the Crusaders in five sets on Tuesday, with the loss snapping a four-match win streak that the Rams were riding. Additionally, the defeat hands Mobile their first loss at home as the overall record falls to 15-6 and 7-2 in conference play, placing them third in the current SSAC Volleyball standings.
Rams Fall Just Short in Five Sets
Set One | 26-24: At the start of the match, Mobile and William Carey traded points halfway through set one before William Carey managed to start a small offensive rally and go up three points. After a timeout by Mobile Head Coach Jon Campbell, the Rams started a rally of their own and took the lead late in the set. William Carey Head Coach Kelsea Weldon was forced to burn both of her timeouts late in the set as Mobile managed a 23-20 lead. The timeouts proved important for the Crusaders as William Carey tied the match at 24 points a piece, forcing extra play. However, Mobile prevailed in set one and came away with a 26-24 set victory, igniting the loud Pharr Gymnasium crowd.
Set Two | 14-25: In set two, William Carey answered back in dominating fashion, never trailing the Rams in the set. Jon Campbell used both timeouts halfway through set two following multiple offensive runs put together by the Crusaders. Offense struggled to hit the ball consistently on Mobile's side as the Rams only managed a .152 hitting percentage as a team. Meanwhile, the Crusaders tallied a stellar .500 hitting percentage in the set, leading them to the 25-14 win in set two. The convincing set win for William Carey shifted momentum to their side and took the Mobile fans out of the match for the time being.
Set Three | 22-25: Much like set two, set three got off to a hot start for William Carey, recording six points off the first seven rallies. The Rams began hitting the ball more consistently, while limiting errors, which eventually led to momentum beginning to shift the Rams' way. However, William Carey kept a three-point lead for much of the set, and extended their lead to six points at 24-18. Looking destined for back-to-back set victories, Mobile started a small run which forced Kelsea Weldon to call a timeout on William Carey's side. The timeout stopped the Rams' run and saw the Crusaders win set three 25-22, putting William Carey one set win away from a match victory.
Set Four | 25-19: Despite losing set three, the Rams gained confidence on the offensive side with multiple offensive streaks in the set. That seemed to carry over to set four as Mobile managed three separate offensive runs over William Carey, with the largest deficit coming halfway through the set when the Rams scored seven-straight points. William Carey could not seem to halt the momentum that Mobile was building and trailed by three points for the majority of the set. Mobile managed to force a fifth set with a 25-19 win, bringing the crowd back to life before a deciding fifth set. Mobile recorded their best set offensively in the fourth set, hitting .355.
Set Five | 15-8: In the deciding fifth set, both teams traded the first few points before William Carey capitalized on Mobile errors. In a set that only goes to 15 points, errors can be costly, and arguably costed Mobile the match on Tuesday night. The Rams committed five errors in the set alone, four being attack errors as they saw Tuesday's match slip away, falling 15-8 in the final set to the Crusaders.
Inside the Box Score
In the longest match played at Pharr Gymnasium during the season, both teams recorded hitting percentages inside the 200-mark, with William Carey having the edge at .296. Mobile slashed .214 in the defeat, with set two and set five hurting the Rams in the end. In 159 total attacks, Mobile recorded 52 kills, while committing 18 attack errors.
Individually, Aleah Kennedy had a great offensive night, tallying a season-high 11 kills while leading Mobile in hitting with a .500 hitting mark. Tuesday's match is just the second match on the season that Kennedy has recorded double-digit kill totals. She was joined by Brinkley Hearn as the only two Rams to hit above .200 in the five-set loss to William Carey, as Hearn hit .318 on the night, while mixing in seven kills on her birthday.
Corrina Porch-Maxey led Mobile with 13 kills, but saw her hitting percentage fall below .150 in the loss. The true freshman currently leads Mobile in kills on the season with 184 total.
Overall, the Mobile setters combined for 47 total assists on Tuesday, with Layton Adams leading the way with 24 on the night. Tatum Beech followed with 21 assists as both Brinkley Hearn and Madison Bergeron recorded one each. Beech currently leads the team with 372 assists on the season, averaging over five assists per set.
Defensively, it was an off night for the Rams as William Carey did a great job exposing dead zones on the Mobile side, placing the ball perfectly between the front and back line of Mobile on attacks. The Rams committed seven reception errors and allowed 64 total kills to the opposition, the most by any team this year. Libero Lexi Gillette led Mobile with 14 defensive digs on the night, and was followed by Abby Andrews, Tatum Beech, and Layton Adams who all recorded nine digs each.
One category that looked promising on the stat sheet for the Mobile defense was blocking. The Rams came away with an impressive 21 block assists against William Carey, the largest total of the season. The Crusaders only tallied 10 against Mobile. Jordan Wood led the Rams with five blocking assists, being followed by Brinkley Hearn with four.
Back to Work on the Road
Following a tough loss to William Carey, Mobile will return to action on the road this upcoming weekend and will start a four-match road trip. The Rams will battle Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Friday, Oct. 7 at 6:00 p.m. CT, and will follow that match with a huge match against Blue Mountain College on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 1:00 p.m. CT in Blue Mountain, Miss.
Saturday's match featuring Mobile and Blue Mountain will be a battle between the second and third place teams in the current conference standings. Mobile swept Blue Mountain at home back on Sept. 10.
About the University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is a Christ-centered liberal arts and sciences institution with a vision of higher education for a higher purpose, founded to honor God by equipping students for their future professions through rigorous academic preparation and spiritual transformation. Core values are: Christ-Centered, Academically-Focused, Student-Devoted and Distinctively-Driven. The university offers on-campus and online bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in over 75 academic programs. Founded in 1961, the University of Mobile is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention and is located 10 miles north of Mobile, Alabama on a campus of over 880 acres.
For information about the University of Mobile, areas of study, admissions and more, visit umobile.edu, connect with UM on social media @univofmobile, or call Enrollment Services at 1.800.WIN.RAMS or 251.442.2222.
