WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Led by standout junior right side hitter Giada Pais-Marden, the Auburn University at Montgomery volleyball team earned a 3-1 win over Florida Southern before falling to #17 Nova Southeastern on the first day of the South Region Crossover.

The Warhawks end the day sitting at 15-9 overall and now stand at 7-4 in games played at a neutral site.

There wasn't a better player on the floor in game one of the crossover than Pais-Marden. The Italian junior led all players with 16 kills while registering six digs and 16 points. Setter Isadora Nicolai continues her chase for 3,000 assists, netting 30 in the contest against the Mocs.

The match got off to an epic start with the first set as the initial frame needed extra time to decide the winner. A Ylenia De Mango kill got the Warhawks off to an 11-7 lead over Florida Southern and eventually led by as much as 18-14 after an Amber Bretwisch ace. However, the Mocs would come storming back to take a 23-22 lead over AUM to put the Warhawks on their heels. AUM battled back to tie the game at 26, but FSC took the next two points to take the first set 28-26.

AUM dug in hard during the second frame as the Warhawks flew out to an 8-2 lead over Florida Southern. A quick 3-0 run by the Mocs later in the set cut their deficit to 13-10, but AUM took four of the next five points to gain an 18-12 lead and would come away with the second set 25-19 to even the match at one.

Again, in the third set, the Warhawks jumped out to a huge lead over the Mocs. A service ace from Keren Santana ran the score to 11-5 in favor of the Orange & Black. AUM led by a lead as big as 22-13 before the Warhawks ran out of points to score in the set. The Warhawks took the third set 25-15.

The fourth set was scripted almost identically to the second and third frame as AUM jumped out to a massive lead to start. A 13-5 lead, however, was cut down to 13-9 after a 4-0 Florida Southern run, and the Mocs would get as close as 18-16 before later tying the set at 22. AUM bunkered down, however, and was able to put away the Mocs, taking the fourth set 25-23 and the match 3-1.

AUM was able to play the Sharks close to start the first set in the rematch from September 10. After a De Mango kill that cut the Nova lead to 15-14, the Sharks scored the next eight points unanswered and went on to take the first set 25-15.

The Warhawks started better in the second set, taking a 7-4 lead over their nationally-ranked foe. The Sharks, however, found another lengthy run, taking six of the next seven points to take a 12-9 lead. Nova's offense proved too much to handle for
AUM as they dropped the second set 25-12 and the third set 25-13.

AUM will close out the South Region Crossover with a rematch against Barry University tomorrow. The match from Winter Haven is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.

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