PENSACOLA, Fla. - The No. 3 seed Auburn University at Montgomery volleyball squad earned a 3-0 victory over the sixth-seeded Mississippi College on Friday night in the opening round of the 2023 Gulf South Conference Tournament inside the UWF Field House on the campus of the University of West Florida. 

THE WARMUP 
Score: MC 0, AUM 3
Records: MC 13-15 (10-6 GSC) | AUM 24-8 (12-4 GSC)
Series: Mississippi College leads 9-4
Location: Pensacola, Fla. | UWF Field House
Get Social: Twitter & Instagram - @AUMWarhawksVB

HIGHLIGHTS

• The set began back-and-forth and the Warhawks caught a spark when Alessia Cappai served a five-point rally with five attack errors on the Lady Choctaws to take a 10-6 lead. The Warhawks rallied again with two service aces from Kaleigh Fitzgerald to jump to a 15-8 lead. Giulia Santuari delivered a kill off an assist from Savannah Sebek to give AUM a 23-16 lead. AUM clinched the set off an attack error from MC and won 25-17. 
• The Warhawks and Lady Choctaws battled in the second set. AUM took an 11-8 lead after Keren Santana posted a service ace. Maya Thompson had a kill that led AUM another rally and they held a 16-11 lead. Cappai finished off the set with a kill and AUM earned a 25-19 victory in the set and took a 2-0 lead. 
• AUM took a 3-0 lead in set three after Thompson had a kill. Neither team could take a big lead and they continued to trade points in the set. The Warhawks caught some momentum with a Myllena Torquetti kill and the Warhawks took a 22-19 lead after a run. Cappai had back-to-back kills to finish the match and AUM won set three 25-21. 

STATS OF THE MATCH

• Cappai had 14 kills on the night with 28 total attacks. She has posted double-digit kills in five consecutive matches. 
• Kaleigh Fitzgerald lead the AUM defense with 14 digs. She also had a pair of service aces along with six assists. 
• Amber Bretwisch dished out 17 assists in the match. 
• Sebek and Santana had nine digs each. 
• The Warhawks advance to the semifinals for the second consecutive season. 

FROM THE SIDELINE

Tonight's win is a testament to the countless hours of practice," head coach Flavia Siqueira said. "The countless sacrifices made, and the unwavering commitment each player has shown to our program. We faced a tough opponent, but the resilience and determination led us to a victory."

UP NEXT
The Warhawks take on the No. 2 seed The University of Alabama in Huntsville on Saturday, November 18 at 4:30 p.m. inside the UWF Field House in the GSC Championship Semifinals.   
For the latest on AUM Athletics, find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.​