PULASKI, Tenn. - Following the biggest win of the season thus far against Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) on the night of Sept. 13, the University of Mobile Volleyball team returned to action for a doubleheader in Pulaski, Tenn. the following afternoon. Riding momentum from a sweep over the defending two-time SSAC Volleyball Champions to open the weekend road trip, Mobile kept rolling on Saturday afternoon with sweeps over UT-Southern (Tenn.) and Fisk University (Tenn.), improving to 15-3 on the season and extending the current win streak to five matches.
Two of Mobile's three wins on the weekend came against conference opponents, while the win over Fisk was a non-conference matchup. Mobile's conference record stays perfect at 4-0, with all four matches in SSAC action finishing as 3-0 sweeps.
Saturday Highlights
Mobile began play against the Firehawks of UT-Southern on Saturday afternoon, controlling the match from start to finish. The Rams set the tone of the match with a 25-7 set one win, winning the first 13 points to begin play. Mobile collected a pair of 25-13 wins across the second and third sets to finish off the sweep over the conference foe, tallying 47 total kills on 103 attack attempts in the match. The offense made just 11 attack errors and finished with a .350 hitting percentage as a unit. Attack errors from the opposition helped out Mobile throughout Saturday's opening match, with the Firehawks committing 16 errors and recording only 12 kills for a -.042 hitting line.
Corrina Porch-Maxey matched UT-Southern with 12 kills of her own, leading all players in the match and finishing as the only player to reach double-digit kill totals. Aspen Adams and Dazsha Dean Middleton followed with seven kills a piece as all three offensive leaders hit above .330. Layton Adams and Tatum Beech shared the team lead with 16 assists each, and Jaci Drinnon led the Rams with 18 digs.
Following the dominating win over UT-Southern, Mobile returned to non-conference play with a match against Fisk later on Saturday afternoon. The Rams opened the match with a 25-14 set one win, following that with a 25-12 victory in the second set. Mobile notched the team's fifth consecutive sweep following a 25-22 set three victory over the Volley Dogs. The Rams continued to hit well throughout the weekend, recording a .253 attack percentage against Fisk. Mobile managed 34 kills and committed just 13 errors as a team. Meanwhile, Fisk could only muster 28 kills on 87 attempts, recording 20 attack errors.
Corrina Porch-Maxey and Aspen Adams led Mobile offensively with 10 kills each, with Porch-Maxey finishing the weekend with a team-best 35 kills off a .311 hitting percentage. Layton Adams picked up a team-high 17 assists in the victory over Fisk and Jaci Drinnon led all players with 12 digs. Both Adams and Drinnon led Mobile in each of their respective categories on the weekend.
1,000 Digs for Gillette
Additionally, junior Lexi Gillette was the latest Ram to join the 1,000-dig club at the University of Mobile, surpassing 1,000 career digs during the weekend road trip. Gillette becomes just the 10th member of the University of Mobile Volleyball program to reach 1,000 digs during her collegiate career and currently holds the record for most digs recorded in a single match (42).
Gillette averages 3.50 digs per set during her career at Mobile so far, and has totaled 1,011 digs. She sits at 114 digs during the 2024 season alone.
Rivalry Weekend Ahead
Following the 3-0 road trip up north, Mobile is set to travel west for a pair of road matches against SSAC rivals this upcoming weekend. The Rams begin action against William Carey (Miss.) at 6:00 p.m. CT on Friday, Sept. 20 in Hattiesburg, Miss., following that with a 1:00 p.m. CT match the next day against Loyola University (La.) in New Orleans, La.
The Rams are 2-3 against both opponents during the last five meetings.
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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.
