The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Rice
Blazers Knock Off Rice To Open Road Trip
10/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 20, 2005
HOUSTON, Texas -- UAB freshman Aleksandra Vujovic hit .422 and tied a career-high with 23 kills and the Blazers improved to 4-0 in five-game matches with a 3-2 win at Rice on Thursday afternoon at Autry Court. UAB is now 13-4 overall and 4-3 in Conference USA while the Owls fall to 13-5 and 4-3 in league play as well. By knocking off Rice, who was the preseason pick to win the conference, the Blazers have now won three of their last four matches, all in five games.
"This was a complete team effort, " said UAB co-interim head coach Allison Magner. "We really started to fire ourselves up towards the end of the fourth game and carried that over into the fifth game. We're very proud. It was huge to come in here and pick up a win against a team of Rice's caliber."
Vujovic's 23 kills were a match-best, and the freshman added 10 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Blazer freshman Ivana Bozic hit .370 and notched her second-straight 21-kill performance, while leading all players with five service aces. Nevena Stefanov put up a match-high 56 assists, and Nicole Bowland led all players with 19 digs. Isabel Oquendo also recorded a 17-kill, 10-dig double-double for UAB. Rice's Karyn Morgan (14 kills, 17 digs) and Olaya Pazo (14 kills, 12 digs) set the tone for the Owls in the match.
The Blazers came out of the gate strong, jumping out to a 1-0 lead with a 30-27 win in the opening game. Oquendo led all players with six kills and UAB hit .316 as a team compared to just .135 for the Owls.
After Rice came back to tie the match with a 30-23 victory in game two, the Blazers reclaimed the lead with another 30-27 win in the third contest. Vujovic and Bozic dominated the Rice defense, combining for 14 kills and hitting .455 and .429, respectively. As a team in the game, UAB committed just three attacking errors and hit a match-high .447.
Trailing two games to one, Rice built an early lead in game four which UAB was not able to overcome. The Blazers clawed their way back within three points of the Owl lead late in the game at 28-25, but Rice held on and scored the next two points, capped off by a Pazo kill to send the match into a fifth and deciding game.
But UAB opened up game five with the high energy level it had built late in the fourth game. With the score tied at four, the Blazers rolled off five straight points, building a solid 9-4 advantage. But the Owls came right back with four points of their own, fighting their way back within one point of the UAB lead. With the Blazers holding an 11-10 lead, two Rice attack errors increased the UAB cushion. After a Stefanov service error, Bozic came up with a huge kill, followed by a Vujovic kill on match point to finish off the Owls for good.
The Blazers return to action Friday evening at SMU for a 7 p.m. match before finishing the weekend at Tulsa on Sunday at 2 p.m.
