MOBILE, Ala. - Coming off a dominant home and conference opener Friday night in Pharr Gymnasium over Stillman College, the University of Mobile Volleyball team followed Friday night's success by hosting a tri-match on Saturday, Sept. 10. A total of three matches were played among three NAIA teams, two teams coming out of the SSAC. Mobile faced conference foe and the reigning SSAC Volleyball champions Blue Mountain College to start the afternoon, with that match being followed by Blue Mountain versus Warner University, a SUN Conference member. Later, Mobile faced Warner to conclude the tri-match tournament.
The Rams managed to finish 2-0 on Saturday, with both wins coming in the form of 3-0 sweeps. Blue Mountain went 1-1 on Saturday, with the Royals of Warner heading home with an 0-2 record. Both of Mobile's wins came in the form of sweeps, giving the Rams four-straight sweeps and nine sweeps in 10 matches won on the year. Mobile's record improves to 10-4 following Saturday's action.
Rams Sweep Conference Champs
With a 12-1 record entering Saturday, Blue Mountain College entered Saturday's tri-match with confidence. However, the Toppers of BMC struggled to hit the ball consistently in the afternoon's first match against Mobile, giving the Rams the edge and eventually winning 25-19, 25-21, 25-23. Mobile trailed Blue Mountain in each of the three sets played, but managed to play much better than the Toppers late in sets to eventually sweep BMC. Saturday's battle with Mobile and Blue Mountain was a match featuring the last two SSAC Volleyball champions, as Mobile came away with bragging rights.
The Rams only hit .174 in the match, committing 17 errors on 132 attack attempts. However, the Toppers committed 24 errors on 143 attempts in the match, good for a .119 hitting percentage. No player on either team hit above .225 (minimum of five attempts) with the exception of Mobile's Jordan Wood, who led the Rams to a set three comeback and has been Mobile's best offensive player since the start of the season. Wood tallied 10 kills, while hitting a stellar .526 in the first match on Saturday.
Sophomore Tatum Beech led Mobile with 20 assists, while freshman Lexi Gillette collected 22 defensive digs. Three Rams tallied two service aces each in the victory over Blue Mountain, with the front line recording 17 total blocks.
Mobile Cruises Past Warner
Later on Saturday afternoon, Mobile faced Warner in a non-conference match. Warner concluded a straight-set loss against Blue Mountain just an hour prior to the Royals' match with Mobile, as the Rams controlled the majority of the match from start to finish, defeating Warner, 25-22, 25-15, 25-12.
Consistent offense once again eluded Mobile in the win, as the Rams only managed a .100 hitting percentage in 100 attack attempts, committing 19 errors. Fortunately for Mobile, Warner has struggled all season with offense, as the Royals tallied a -.010 hitting mark.
Abby Andrews collected seven early kills in the match, eventually leading Mobile with eight kills in the win. Andrews hit .250 and finished second on the team with 12 digs. Lexi Gillette once again led Mobile in digs with 17, while Layton Adams led the Rams with 14 assists.
The big number in the box score for Mobile came in the service aces category as the Rams tallied 13 aces over Warner. Lexi Gillette recorded a match-high five aces as Layton Adams tallied three. Through 14 matches, Mobile averages 2.37 service aces per set.
Big Conference Match Next Tuesday
Mobile is set to go to battle with conference rival Loyola Univeristy (La.) next Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 7:00 p.m. CT. The match is a home game for the Rams and will be played in Pharr Gymnasium.
Loyola has made it to the conference championship match in each of the last two seasons, with the last meeting with the Rams coming last year in the conference tournament. Mobile managed a five-set win over Loyola before being upset by Blue Mountain, the eventual winners of the conference tourney.
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.
