University of Mobile Athletics

Lady Rams Take Down Rivals

MOBILE, Ala-- The University of Mobile volleyball team fell behind 1-0 at Spring Hill Tuesday night, but rallied to win the match 3-1.

"After a shaky start, we had a confident finish," Mobile Assistant Coach Amber Campbell said. "Clutch performances from Amber Presnell and Paula Stilkey, and a breakout performance from Syretta Baldwin gave us a good start to the conference season."

The Lady Badgers opened the match by defending their home court and never trailing in Game 1. With the opening game tied at 5-5, Spring Hill went on a 9-2 run to take control of the match and go on to the 30-22 victory.

Game 2 was a lot closer, though Mobile looked to take control when back-to-back kills from Syretta Baldwin and Paula Stilkey staked Mobile to a 22-16 lead. The 6 point lead, was the largest of the game, but the Lady Badgers rallied and took a late 28-27 lead on an ace from Kristen Phillips. But, thankfully for the Ram fans who made the cross-town trek, Mobile kept its composure and a Lady Badger attack error gave Mobile the 31-29 victory to tie the match at 1-1.

Game 3 was back-and-forth early on the way to a 7-7 tie, before the Lady Rams finished a 7-0 surge on a kill and 2 blocks from Cassy Johnson. After the Lady Badgers again fought back to cut the lead to 3, at 21-18, Alyson Kovacs capped another mini-rally from the Lady Rams with a kill to stretch the lead back to 6. From there, Mobile cruised to a 30-21 victory to take control of the match at 2-1.

Game 4 was highlighted by some impressive serving from Stilkey. After early service errors from the Lady Rams had the team behind 6-4, Stilkey served up 5 straight points, including 4 aces to give Mobile a lead it would never relinquish on the way to the 30-23 clincher.

The Lady Rams move to 5-2 on the year, with a 1-0 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference mark. Next up is a crucial tournament in Cleveland, TN where Mobile will face Region XIII foes Lee University and Berry College. The Lady Rams face Lee, Friday at 5:00 pm and Emory University at 8:00 pm.