The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Troy
UAB Volleyball Wins Home Opener in Convincing Fashion
9/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 6, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB Blazers volleyball team shut out Troy, 3-0 (30-21, 30-16, 30-20), in its home opener behind a combined .308 hitting performance on Wednesday night at Bartow Arena. The win was the first home win for first year head coach Kerry Messersmith and improved the Blazers to 4-3 overall this season.
Sophomore outside hitter Ivana Bozic finished with 17 kills and six service aces, while junior outside hitter Fernanda Domingos had nine kills on a night that she hit .316. Sophomore setter Nevena Stefanov finished with 39 assists against the Trojans.
Defensively, nine UAB players had two digs or more with Bozic leading the way with eight. Junior middle blocker Shaniquwa Cooper had four blocks in her defensive effort, while Domingos had three.
UAB was out in front from the get-go against the Trojans, opening up a 17-7 lead in game one after Cooper finished off her first of three kills on the night. Troy won four straight points late in the game, however its run was ended on a service error, giving the Blazers the 30-21 victory to gain the early edge.
Nine of the first 10 points in game two went in UAB's favor as another kill by Cooper gave her team a 9-1 lead. UAB continued to pull away, finishing off a 30-16 triumph on a kill by sophomore middle blocker Casey Dent.
In game three, Troy briefly held its only lead of the night by winning the first point on a ball handling error by the Blazers, however UAB would not surrender control of the match, winning seven straight points before eventually opening up a 16-9 lead on another kill by Dent. Bozic, the nation's 15th leading hitter in kills per game, closed out the match with her 19th put away of the contest to give the Blazers a 30-20 victory and close out the 3-0 sweep.
UAB will next be in action on Friday when it plays a pair of matches at the Mercer Bear Brawl. First up will be Nicholls State at 1:00 p.m. before meeting UNC-Asheville in the night cap at 7:00 p.m.
