By james art BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (October 25, 2024) – The University of North Alabama beach volleyball team opens the 2024 fall season on Saturday, October 26. at the UAB fall doubles tournament in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Lions return to action for the second straight fall season and will look to start the campaign strong with pre-championship games against UAB and UT Martin. UNA faced both teams in the spring 2024 season.
UNA played three events during its inaugural fall season in 2023, including stops in Alabama and Tennessee. That set the stage for a 2024 spring season in which the program reached new heights, including multiple school records. UNA head coach and reigning Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year Kaleb VanDePerre aims for another successful season, starting with games against the Blazers and Skyhawks.
“We’re really excited to head to Birmingham and compete outside of ourselves,” VanDePere said. “UAB and UT Martin have a really strong history, so we know the competition will be solid. The girls have been working hard over the past few weeks on building chemistry and trust with each other and it’s just a great time to see what progress we’ve made and figure out which areas will need a little more attention in the coming weeks. We are really excited to see some of our newcomers get their first college experience and look forward to a great weekend to get better.”
Play from Birmingham begins at 9:30 a.m., with UNA having eight doubles competing in five pools per game. Information on the doubles can be found here, with the results of each match provided after play.
Complete results and a recap will be posted on RoarLions.com following the action, but fans can also follow along on UNA Beach Volleyball’s social media pages.
FOR THE OPPONENTS
UAB: The Blazers won 19 games during the 2024 spring season, including two wins in Conference USA. They made the conference tournament with a 3-0 win against Tarleton State, but fell to No. 14 FIU in the next round. UAB and North Alabama played twice during the championship season and each side won at home.
UT MARTIN: The Skyhawks won 16 games in the spring of 2024, including nine in the Ohio Valley Conference. UT Martin won its opening match against Morehead State at the OVC Beach Volleyball Championship, but dropped its next two matches against Chattanooga and Lindenwood. The only game of the championship season resulted in a 4-1 win by UNA on April 16, 2024.
For more information on North Alabama athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.