MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The University of Tennessee Southern volleyball team began Southern States Athletic Conference Championship play falling to the third seed Life 3-1 and dropping a heartbreaker to the sixth seed William Carey on Thursday.

UT SOUTHERN VS LIFE

UT Southern (14-15) dropped the first set to Life (16-9). The Firehawks battled back to a 24-24 tie but fell behind 2-0. The third set was a carbon copy od the second set but UT Southern won the final two points to force a fourth set. Life would outlast the Firehawks in the final set.

Morgan Avrit would record 14 kills. Laura Howell notched 28 assists, and Isabella Garza dug 12 Runnin' Eagle attacks.

UT SOUTHERN VS WILLIAM CAREY

UT Southern (14-16) dropped the first two sets to the Crusaders. William Carey (14-19) tried to put away UT Southern, but the Firehawks would take advantage of some key Crusader turnovers to force a fourth set. In the fourth set, UT Southern would ignite and jump out to a large lead. In the deciding fifth set, WCU would take the early lead of 8-3. The Firehawks charged back to close the gap to 14-13, but a tough deflection ended the comeback effort.

Morgan Avrit would record a season and UTS career high of 26 kills. Sophia Ortega added 11 kills in limited playing time. Laura Howell notched 46 assists. Hailey Walker led with 20 digs, and Isabella Garza dug 17 Crusader attacks.

NEXT UP

UT Southern will conclude SSAC Championship pool play facing Loyola tomorrow at 11 a.m., in Montgomery, Ala.

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