MOBILE, Ala-- The University of Mobile volleyball team opened Southern States Athletic Conference play at the SSAC Cross-Over Tournament Friday and fell 0-3 (15-25, 16-25, 16-25) to Shorter University.

The tournament continues Saturday, with all matches being held at Spring Hill. Mobile (5-5, 0-1) will battle Brewton-Parker at 10 am and Lee University at 4 pm.

Shorter out hit Mobile .185 to -.019, and neither team did much from the service line, with only seven combined aces.

Kiara Gay led the Lady Rams with 7 kills and added 13 digs, while Disah Kolassiba added 6 kills. Katy McCollister led the team with 15 digs.

Shorter got 11 kills from Jasmine Crook and 16 digs from Tanequa Whitman.

Mobile trailed only 11-13 in the opening set before the Hawks went on a 10-0 run to take over the set. The Lady Rams then raced out to a 6-2 lead in the second set thanks to a run at the service line by Melody Tenney, but Shorter responded with a 12-2 spurt.

The final set was tied up at 6-6 before Shorter again took command with a big run, this time a 8-0 surge to take over the match-clinching set.