The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Coastal Carolina
Blazers Win First Game of 2006 Against Coastal Carolina
8/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Other standout performances for the Blazers came from sophomore outside hitter Aleksandra Vujovic who finished with 14 kills and seven digs, while sophomore middle blocker Casey Dent also reached double figures in kills with 12 to go along with two blocks. Brianna Galvin led the team in digs for the second straight game with 13.
Messersmith was pleased with her teams ability to come out and play with emotion and work together to earn its first win of the season.
"We came out with high intensity and energy just like last night (against Georgia)," Messersmith said. "We were able to maintain that energy today and it was really exciting to see them work hard together to get the win. The key for us winning this match was the fact that we blocked and passed much better."
UAB got off to a similar start as it did in Friday nights season opener as three early kills by Bozic gave the Blazers a 4-3 advantage and they never looked back. Vujovic served out the final six points of the opening game for the Blazers, closing out the 30-19 victory on a service ace.
The two teams stayed close in the early stages of game two, however the Blazers made their move when Bozic served back-to-back aces to put UAB on top, 19-15. That momentum would continue to grow throughout the remainder of game two as Fernanda Domingos put away two straight kills to give the team a 22-15 lead with Galvin following-up with two service aces, making it 26-16. UAB earned the 30-16 victory in game two when Coastal Carolina's Jill Nyhof recorded a service error.
Coastal Carolina started the third game just as it finished the first with three straight errors, giving the Blazers an early edge. UAB held on to a slight advantage throughout the early stages of game three with Bozic putting away her fifth kill of the game to hold on to an 18-17 advantage. Coastal Carolina then rallied to take its first lead since the early stages of game two when a Laura Obert kill gave the team a 22-19 lead. UAB would answer, with kills by Angie Ping and Vujovic, and a service ace by Galvin, the Blazers regained the lead, 24-23. The two teams went on to exchange points with four ties before Coastal Carolina distanced itself again, 27-25, after a Nyhof kill, forcing a UAB timeout.
The Blazers responded coming out of its timeout as they won the final six points of the match with Vujovic capping off the run with back-to-back kills to give the Blazers a 30-27 triumph in game three and the match victory.
"We fought really hard at the end," Messersmith said. "We wanted to close the match out in three and we worked really hard and closed it out. This was a great match for us."
UAB will wrap-up competition in the Georgia Invitational Saturday afternoon when it takes on Morehead State at 5 p.m.
