Liberty University
9-9,5-6ASUN
North Alabama
8-16,2-9ASUN
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Ala. | 17 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 1 |
| LIBERTY | 25 | 18 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Liberty Battles for 3-1 Win Over North Alabama
10/24/2021 6:10:42 PM | Women's Volleyball
Liberty and North Alabama battled back and forth all afternoon, with the Lady Flames taking the final two sets and the match, 3-1 (25-17, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21) on Sunday at Jacksonville’s Swisher Gymnasium.
The Lady Flames (9-9) improve to 5-6 in ASUN play after going 2-1 at this weekend’s ASUN Crossover weekend. Liberty went 4-2 against ASUN West Division teams this season. Meanwhile, UNA (8-16) falls to 2-9 in ASUN play after a 1-2 weekend in Jacksonville.
Liberty faced ASUN West Division opponents Central Arkansas, Jacksonville State and North Alabama this weekend. Meanwhile, those three West Division teams took on Liberty, Jacksonville and FGCU.
Liberty Head Coach Trevor Johnson
“Great weekend for Liberty Volleyball. The goal was to get a little better each day and I thought we did just that. This is a great group of young ladies who love God and who love each other! Trinity had a good night for us with 17 kills and hit .556! I thought Lydia did some good things in the middle as well, not only offensively, 12 kills and hit .409, but defensively she finished with 18 blocks on the weekend! Amaya did a good job of distributing the ball and kept their defense guessing. God has something special planned for these ladies and we will continue to trust Him. #PURSUE”
Notable Numbers
• Liberty outhit North Alabama .295-.210 for the match. The Lady Flames led in blocks (11-6), kills (57-52), aces (5-4) and digs (51-45). Liberty posted 10 or more blocks in all three matches this weekend.
• Trinity Watts scored a match-high 17 kills at a .556 pace, while Lilly Kruse (.344) recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs to go along with two aces. Lydia Burts hit .409 with 12 kills to go along with four blocks. Amaya Williams tied for the match lead with 37 assists, while Leah Kodat collected a match-high 12 digs. Aspen Thompson posted a match-high-tying four blocks.
• Reigning ASUN Freshman of the Week Katy Floyd scored 16 kills for the Lions, while Kamryn Parsonage totaled 12 kills. Breylee Linder registered a double-double with 37 assists, 11 digs and two aces, while Katie Gerig collected 11 digs.
Turning Point
• Liberty hit an impressive .484 during the first set, winning 25-17, before the Lions bounced back with a 25-18 set-two win.
• UNA appeared poised to take a 2-1 match lead after going ahead 23-21 in the third. However, Liberty ended the set on a 4-0 run, with a Watts kill sealing the set for the Lady Flames.
• Liberty pulled away late in set four, breaking a 19-19 tie with a 3-0 run that included two kills from Kruse. The Lady Flames took the set 25-21 to claim the match.
Quick Hits
• Liberty is now 7-0 all-time against North Alabama in volleyball, as the Lady Flames and Lions both entered the ASUN during the 2018-19 academic year.
• This is the second time Liberty has faced a team led by first-year North Alabama Head Coach Andrew Kroger. The Flames defeated Kroger’s La Salle Explorers 3-2 in the first round of the 2019 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) at the Vines Center.
• This was Liberty’s ninth 10-block match of the season and third in a row. The last time Liberty posted three 10-block matches in a row was Nov. 12 through Dec. 7, 2019, when they recorded five double-digit block matches in a row.
• Watts’ .556 hitting percentage was the highest by a Lady Flame since Rajini Fitzmaurice hit .667 (15-1-21) at NJIT, Oct. 25, 2019.
• Watts leads the Lady Flames with eight double-digit kill matches this season, giving her 17 for her career. Burts and Kruse both posted their fourth double-digit kill match of 2021.
• Today’s match set a new season high in ties (30) and tied for the season high in lead changes (16).
Up Next
Liberty returns home for its next three matches. The Lady Flames host Kennesaw State on Friday at 6 p.m. to begin the second half of ASUN East Division play.
