Box Score MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The University of West Georgia Volleyball team dropped a five-thriller to the Auburn Montgomery Warhawks on Saturday afternoon.

In a match that truly came down to the wire, West Georgia (11-12, 5-6 GSC) got out-hit by Auburn Montgomery (19-8, 8-4 GSC) as the Warhawks put down 58 kills on a .232 hitting percentage compared to 46 kills on a .150 hitting percentage for the Wolves.

"Really proud of our efforts today against a top team in the conference," said head coach Kara Hellmann. "To be where we are in the season and see this group continue to get better and learn with every match – I'm confident we will have a big response this coming week with three matches on the road."

The first set was competitive all the way through as AUM held a 12-11 lead early. Moments later, the Warhawks took their biggest lead of the game, putting the Wolves in a 20-15 deficit before three straight points from Zoë LaBreche brought West Georgia back within two. After the two teams traded scores, a kill from Sarah pipping and an ace from Kelli Kaiser made it a 22-21 game until Auburn Montgomery scored the next three points to win the set, 25-21.

Much like set one, set two was extremely tight as UWG held a 12-10 lead after an ace from LaBreche. The Wolves could never break away from the Warhawks but they held a comfortable 19-16 lead late after a kill from Taylor Allen and two AUM errors. Auburn Montgomery was finally able to catch West Georgia as three straight points from the Warhawks tied the set at 19 before UWG responded with a 3-0 run of their own to retake a three-point lead. Moments later, Allen won the set for the Wolves with a kill.

The third set was the outlier in the entire match as West Georgia could never find their rhythm, leading to a 25-10 set win for AUM.

The Wolves bounced back in the fourth, beginning by taking a 12-11 lead. A service ace from Allen sparked a 6-3 run for UWG, giving West Georgia their largest lead of the set at 18-14. Auburn Montgomery responded by scoring the next three points before a kill from Sanai Young swung the momentum back in favor of the Wolves. Young's kills started a 3-0 run for UWG, giving them a 21-17 lead before a 5-1 AUM run tied the score at 22. Needing this set to stay alive, West Georgia scored the next three points to win the set, 25-22.

The Wolves got off to a tremendous start in the fifth, taking a 4-0 lead to start and forcing an Auburn Montgomery timeout. Out of the break, the Warhawks quickly scored the next four points, completely flipping the momentum. UWG could never recover from that run as AUM went on to win the set, 15-10.

Young led the way with 11 kills on a .375 hitting percentage, while LaBreche also picked up 11 kills along with four aces and 13 digs.

West Georgia will be back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Valdosta, GA for matchup with their rival, Valdosta State.