Liberty University
1-3,1-2ASUN
North Alabama
0-2,0-1ASUN
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 25 | 25 | 26 | 3 |
| North Ala. | 12 | 23 | 24 | 0 |
Lady Flames Sweep Lions for 1st Win of Season
2/13/2021 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Liberty breezed to a 25-12 set-one victory at North Alabama on Saturday before edging the Lions by two points in sets two and three to seal the 3-0 sweep (25-12, 25-23, 26-24) at Flowers Hall.
The Lady Flames (1-3, 1-2 ASUN) picked up their first win of the 2021 spring season. North Alabama falls to 0-2 on the season, including 0-1 in ASUN play. Prior to today, UNA had not played since Jan. 22, a 3-0 loss at Chattanooga.
Head Coach Trevor Johnson
"I was really impressed with how we responded in sets two and three after being down several points. I saw a confidence with our body language that I haven't seen before. We talked about winning the mini games to 5. We won most of those. I was also impressed with our defensive intensity, especially that first set! Amaya did a great job of getting all of our hitters involved. I was happy with our offensive production today."
Notable Numbers
• Liberty outhit North Alabama .265-.064 for the match. Liberty led in digs (50-37) and blocks (11-5), while both teams served up four aces. The Lady Flames came back from 15-10 deficits in both the second and third sets today.
• For Liberty, freshmen Julia Mangum (career-high 12 kills, four blocks, nine digs), Trinity Watts (10 kills) and Lydia Burts (six kills, six blocks), combined for 28 out of the team's 42 kills. Rajini Fitzmaurice totaled seven kills, two aces and 13 digs, while Kainah Williams posted six kills, a career-high six digs and five blocks. Amaya Williams dished out a match-high 30 assists.
• Kamryn Parsonage led UNA with nine kills and 10 digs, while Kennedey Johnson served up two aces.
Match Summary
SET 1
• Liberty burst out of the gates in the opening set, racing to a 6-0 lead and never looking back. The Lady Flames led by as many as 13, at 15-2 and again at 18-5 before closing out the 25-12 win.
• Liberty hit. 458 for the set, while also posting five blocks and two aces. Mangum (six kills) and Watts (five) combined for 11 kills, while Williams recorded four block assists.
SET 2
• UNA led Liberty 15-10 midway through the second set before the Lady Flames staged a 10-1 run to gain a 20-16 advantage. After the Lions drew to within 24-23, Kainah Williams sent down the set-clinching kill.
• Kainah Williams scored five set-two kills for the Lady Flames, who outhit the Lions .257-.132.
SET 3
• Similarly to set two, the Lions built a 15-10 lead in the third set. UNA still led at 20-15 before the Lady Flames began their winning rally. Liberty tied it at 22-22, 23-all and again at 24-24. Fitzmaurice's kill sparked a decisive 3-0 surge, as Watts followed with a kill and a Mangum-Kainah Williams block sealed the sweep at 26-24.
• Parsonage scored six kills during the final set, while Fitzmaurcie countered with five kills for the Lady Flames.
Quick Hits
• Liberty is now 5-0 all-time against North Alabama in volleyball, including 3-0 inside Flowers Hall. Last season, both meetings between the Lady Flames and Lions resulted in 3-2 Liberty victories.
• The Lady Flames are now 2-2 in sets decided by exactly two points this season, and 1-0 in extended sets. In 2019, Liberty went 19-11 in sets decided by two points.
• Prior to Mangum and Watts today, the last time a pair of Liberty freshmen scored in double figures in kills was Nov. 19, 2016 against High Point, while Leah Clayton scored 26 kills and Anna Gragg added 10 kills.
• Liberty's 13-point margin of victory in set one today was its largest margin of victory in a single set since defeating North Florida 25-10 in set two on Nov. 10, 2019 in Jacksonville, Fla.
Up Next
The Lady Flames and Lions close their weekend series tomorrow at 3 p.m. Eastern time at Flowers Hall.
