H. AUSTILL PHARR GYMNASIUM | MOBILE, Ala. - In a thrilling five-set showdown in Pharr Gymnasium, the University of Mobile Volleyball team clinched the 2024 SSAC Volleyball Regular Season Championship with a victory over rival William Carey (Miss.) on Friday, Nov. 1, earning the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament and an automatic berth to the 2024 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Tournament.
Mobile's overall record improved to 24-4 on the season following Friday's result, while advancing the SSAC record to 11-1. Mobile swept William Carey across the two regular season meetings this season.
Set-by-Set Breakdown
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Set One: William Carey Strikes First
William Carey opened the match with a strong performance, edging out Mobile 25-22 in a back-and-forth first set. The Crusaders tallied 13 kills in the set, accumulating a .171 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, the Rams managed just nine kills off a .081 hitting line.
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Set Two: Mobile Answers Back
Mobile responded nicely in the second set, rallying with a strong offense that produced 15 kills and ended the set with a 25-23 victory. Mobile improved their hitting to .167, capitalizing on William Carey errors to even the match at one set a piece.
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Set Three: William Carey Regains Control
The Crusaders rebounded in the third set, opening the set with an 11-2 run. William Carey eventually surged ahead to claim a commanding 25-16 win, dominating Mobile with a stellar .394 hitting percentage, the highest of the night. Confidence was high on the William Carey bench as the Rams struggled to overcome the large deficit.
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Set Four: Rams Force a Decisive Fifth Set
Facing a must-win scenario, Mobile dug deep to battle their way to a 25-21 victory in the fourth set. The Rams relied on a match-high 19 kills in the set alone, while hitting .289 compared to the Crusaders' .159 attack line. The fourth-set victory ignited confidence on both Mobile's bench and throughout the home faithful in Pharr Gymnasium.
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Set Five: Mobile Triumphs with Dominant Finish
With the match on the line, Mobile surged to a 15-7 victory in the deciding fifth set, showcasing exceptional composure under pressure after the Crusaders notched the first two points of the fifth. The Rams recorded a .385 hitting percentage in the final set of the night, tallying eight kills as a unit. For William Carey, the Crusaders committed three errors and just four kills in the match-decider.
Key Performances
The Rams were led by Aspen Adams, Corrina Porch-Maxey, and Dazsha Dean Middleton on the offensive side, with Adams leading the team with 15 kills. Porch-Maxey recorded 13 kills, while Middleton produced 11. As a team, Mobile ended the night with 58 kills off a .195 attack percentage. Middleton paced the Rams with a strong .391 hitting line in Friday's win.
Assisting the offense as Mobile's 1-2 punch of setters Tatum Beech and Layton Adams. Beech recorded a season-high 32 assists in the win, while Adams added 16. Defensively, Middleton was a force at the net with five blocks, joined by Emily Osborne with five blocks of her own. On the back line, Jaci Drinnon collected a team-high 18 defensive digs as the junior transfer eclipsed 500 digs in her first season as a Mobile Ram. Aspen Adams followed with 16 digs and Layton Adams recorded 15. Mobile ended the night with 76 digs and 11 total blocks.
Final Home Match on Saturday
Mobile is set for one final match in Pharr Gymnasium after Friday's thriller, coming on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 2 at 1:00 p.m. CT. Mobile will host Loyola University (La.) in the home finale, and will honor the graduating seniors pregame for Senior Day festivities.
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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.
