North Alabama beats Tarleton State 3-1

North Alabama defeated Tarleton State 3-1 on Thursday, avenging a September sweep and improving to 18-6 overall and 8-3 in the United Athletic Conference while remaining unbeaten at home. The Texans took the third set 25-23, but the Lions closed out the match with a strong fourth set; North Alabama’s Ricketts had 18 kills and Fenoff added a career-high 15. Tarleton fell to 9-15 overall and 5-6 in conference play, fifth in the standings, with the top six teams qualifying for the conference tournament. The Texans next visit West Georgia on Saturday after beating the Wolves 3-1 in their first meeting nine days earlier. Tarleton players are nearing career milestones: an outside hitter is two kills from 1,000, and libero Guinn is 19 digs from 1,000 after four consecutive 20-plus-dig matches.