The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
RICE
Improved Offense, Blocking Guide UAB Past Rice In Five Sets
10/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 15, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB volleyball coach Kerry Messersmith said her team focused on two things in practice this week. Blocking and offensive execution.
The work paid off Friday night when the Blazers turned in their best blocking performance of the season and one of their top offensive outings of the year in a 3-2 (25-18, 24-26, 24-26, 25-19, 15-13) victory over Rice at Bartow Arena.
UAB improved to 5-14 (2-5 C-USA) by defeating a Rice team that had lost just one Conference USA match and entered the night tied for second place in the league standings. The Owls dropped to 11-9 (6-2 C-USA) with the loss.
The Blazers will look to build on their victory Sunday when Houston pays a visit to Bartow Arena for a 1 p.m. first serve as league play continues.
UAB not only won an important conference match Friday but also gave its fifth-year head coach her 100th win with the program. Messersmith, who owns 574 total victories in her career, now has a record of 100-58 at UAB.
The Blazers' middle blockers were key on both the offensive and defensive sides of the net Friday. Sam Serley finished with a match-best 18 kills and a .552 attack percentage. The sophomore led all players with eight blocks for a UAB team that posted a season-high 17 total blocks, tying the second-highest mark in C-USA this season. Fellow middle Michelle Uzoh managed 13 kills and contributed on seven blocks.
"Sam and Michelle did an outstanding job," Messersmith said. "Blocking is something we expected to be a strength for us, and we have started to show some good signs there lately. Sam's night offensively was incredible and even better when you add in what she did with her blocking."
UAB hit for a .217 percentage as a team and out-killed Rice 65-56. Ally Slaughter, a freshman from Pelham, Ala., put down a career-high 14 of those kills and also managed 10 digs for her first collegiate double-double.
Blazer setter Alison Woods also turned in a double-double with a match-high 57 assists to go along with 15 digs. Woods ran a UAB attack that featured five players with at least seven kills.
"Alison did a great job distributing the ball," Messersmith said. "She set the ball to good locations and gave our hitters chances to be successful. We played much better offensively tonight, and we're happy to get a win over a good Rice team."
After winning the opening frame going away, UAB found itself with a chance to take a two-set lead before Rice rallied with the final six points of the second set to claim a 26-24 win. When the third set was decided by the same score, the Blazers found themselves trailing by a set for the first time.
But UAB came through with its best offense late in the match, posting a team attack percentage of .314 in the fourth frame and .385 in the fifth. The Blazers finished things off on their third match point when Slaughter put down her 14th kill of the night.
Jordan McDonald added nine kills and six blocks in the UAB win. Mariah Riddlesprigger paced the Rice attack with 16 kills, followed by Nancy Cole with 14.
Two of the top liberos in the country were also on display Friday night. Rice's Tracey Lam, who ranks 10th in the nation in digs per set, posted a match-high 32 digs, while UAB's Heather Thomas, who ranks 12th nationally, finished with 20.
