FLORENCE, Ala. – Alabama A&M (0-8, 0-0 SWAC) fell by a 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-12) decision to North Alabama (5-7, 0-0 ASUN) in an NCAA Division I women's volleyball match on Tuesday, September 14.
 
The Lions opened with a 15-9 run before the Bulldogs would score three of the next four points to close the gap to 16-12. UNA would respond by unleashing a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 22-12 before A&M scored consecutive points. North Alabama would then put together three straight points to close out the set 25-14.
 
UNA started the second frame with an 8-2 run before the Bulldogs responded by scoring eight of the next 13 points including a kill apiece from freshman middle hitters Ryann Tolbert (Southfield, Mich.) and Samaurya Mahone (Duncanville, Texas) to narrow the gap to 12-10.
 
 North Alabama would answer with a mini 3-0 burst before A&M had a 3-1 run to narrow the margin to 16-13. The Lions would then rally behind a 9-3 stretch to win the set 25-16.
 
In the final frame, North Alabama wasted no time in getting to a massive 20-4 lead before the Bulldogs responded with three consecutive points.
 
The Lions would then go on a 4-2 run to extend their lead to 24-9 before A&M fought back with a mini 3-0 burst that consisted of back-to-back kills from Tolbert and Mahone to narrow the gap to 24-12. Following that stretch UNA would score the final point and wrap up the set and the match with a 25-12 victory.
 
Mahone led the Bulldogs in kills with seven and Tolbert had six and freshman setter Aerienne Acuff (French Lick, Ind) fueled the offense with eight assists. Freshman defensive specialist Abigail Cangelosi and sophomore setter Isis Mitchell (Plano, Texas) each added four apiece while the former also chipped in with 11 digs. Acuff added five digs to round out the top performers.
 
Katy Floyd had 13 kills for the Lions while Anna Katherine and Maggie Sullivan had seven each. Breylee Linder had 31 assists and Katie Gerig lead the defense with 14 digs.
 
The Bulldogs will next head to Bloomington, Indiana on Thursday, September 16 for three matches at the Indiana Invitational. Their first opponent will be host Indiana game time is set for 5 p.m.