CARROLLTON, Ga. – The University of West Georgia Volleyball team picked up their eighth conference win after a thrilling five-set win over the Montevallo Falcons on Friday night.

After falling down 2-1 in the match, UWG's (14-13, 8-7 GSC) defense stifled Montevallo (11-17, 9-6 GSC) in sets four and five, leading the Wolves to their 3-2 win.

"That was a real gutsy performance by our team tonight," said head coach Kara Hellmann. "We are so proud of our team's composure through the ups and downs in this match. Where we lacked on the stat sheet tonight we made up in our heart. Really proud of this group."

The opening set was all Falcons as Montevallo hit .433 in the opening set and cruised to a 25-14 first set victory.
 
The Wolves would bounce right back in the second set, outhitting the Falcons .306 to .294. West Georgia didn't get their first lead of the set until the 12-11 mark on a Desha Van Veldhuizen service ace. The Wolves never trailed again, tying the match 1-1 on an Allison Bowser kills to clinch the 25-21 win in set number two.
 
Montevallo pulled away with an 8-0 run in early in the third, turning a 4-4 tie into a 12-4 advantage. All the Falcons had to do from there was match the Wolves point for point, winning the third set 22-14 to regain the advantage in the match.
 
West Georgia got out to a fast start in the fourth set, taking an 11-7 lead after a kill from Zoë LaBreche. UWG held their lead at four, before Montevallo used a 6-3 run to cut the Wolves lead to just one, forcing coach Hellmann to burn her first timeout of the set. Out of the break, Taylor Allen caught fire, igniting for four points, carrying a 6-1 UWG run to extend their lead to 20-14 which put the set out of reach as the Wolves went on to win, 25-20.
 
In the fifth set, West Georgia cruised to a 10-5 lead to begin. The Wolves continued to put pressure on the Falcons as a kill from Desha Van Veldhuizen gave UWG match point at 14-10. With their backs against the wall, Montevallo scored five straight points to take a 15-14 lead, forcing a West Georgia timeout. Out of the timeout, neither team could slam the door on the match until LaBreche clinched it for the Wolves with her 15^th kill of the night.

LaBreche led the way with 15 kills, a career-high 20 digs, and four service aces, while Kelli Kaiser also picked up 25 digs.

West Georgia will close out the regular season on Senior Day Saturday at 7:00 p.m. with a matchup against Alabama Huntsville.