Box Score MONTEVALLO, Ala. The Auburn University at Montgomery volleyball team dropped a dramatic four-set match to Gulf South Conference rival Montevallo on the road 3-1 on Thursday night, suffering their first loss of the season.

The Warhawks fall to 4-1 on the year after the loss and drop to 3-1 in Group B play. Meanwhile, Montevallo stays unbeaten in 2021 and improve to 8-0 overall with a 3-0 record in Group B action.

Isadora Nicolai was excellent again against Montevallo, recording 32 assists. Mariane Cassiano was stellar offensively for the Orange & Black, netting 14 kills and 17 digs against the Falcons.

The beginning of the first set featured a back and forth battle between the two teams as the Warhawks and Falcons went back and forth. Montevallo was able to gain a 9-7 lead that forced a timeout and was able to continue the momentum to take a 15-8 lead. The Warhawks cut into the Falcon lead a few times in the middle stages of the first, but Montevallo came away with the first set, winning 25-15.

Early in the second set, Montevallo was able to jump out to an early lead, securing a 9-5 advantage over AUM to force a Warhawk timeout. The Falcons were able to keep their distance from the Warhawks for much of the middle stages, gaining a 17-10 lead.

AUM mounted a comeback late in the second set, with kills from Cassiano and Carla Butler to cut the lead to 24-18, but it was too late as the Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the match.

AUM was finally able to get their offense going in the third set and were able to battle the Falcons to a 7-7 tie to begin things in the third period. The two sides would continue to go back and forth in the third set, but the Warhawks were struggling to take the lead, trailing 14-12 in the middle stages of the third.

The Warhawks were able to find their first lead of the match late in the third set, leading 17-16 on the back of Butler, thanks to an attack error from the Falcons. A Butler ace moments later gave AUM a three-point lead at 20-17. Montevallo rallied to tie the game at 22, and the two teams would need extra time to finish the third. An attack error from Montevallo propelled the Warhawks to a third-set win, securing a 26-24 victory.

Butler aided the Warhawks to a fast start in the fourth set, tallying two kills to surge AUM to a 4-0 lead. The Warhawk lead would hover around two points for the early part of the fourth before Montevallo went on a quick run to take a 9-8 lead and force an AUM timeout.

The Warhawks rebounded to tie the fourth set at 14 later on, thanks to kills from Cassiano and Nyah Whittlesey. AUM took the lead again thanks to kills from Whittlesey and Maria Nicolau to take a 17-16 advantage over Montevallo.

Montevallo battled back after being down 20-18 to take a 22-21 lead over AUM, forcing the Orange & Black's second timeout of the set. The fourth set again needed extra time to finish as Montevallo took a 25-24 lead and would win the set 26-24 and the match 3-1.

AUM will look to rebound to conclude Group B action next Saturday at the AUM Gymnasium when they take on Gulf South Conference foes Shorter and Lee. The match against Shorter is slated for 1 p.m., while the action against the Lady Flames is set for 7 p.m.

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