The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
UTSA
Blazers Fall To UTSA In Five To Close Nike Invitational
9/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 18, 2010
FORT WORTH, Texas -- The UAB volleyball team won the opening two sets Saturday morning against UTSA only to see the Roadrunners come from behind for a 3-2 (20-25, 21-25, 25-15, 25-20, 15-6) win on the final day of the TCU Nike Invitational.
Kate Morrell (10 kills, 17 digs), Jordan McDonald (14 kills, 12 digs) and Alison Woods (24 assists, 10 digs) each recorded double-doubles for UAB in the loss. Sam Serley posted 13 kills, and Michele Simmons posted a season-high 12 as the Blazers placed four players in double-figure kills.
UAB (3-9) libero Heather Thomas finished with 22 digs and was named to the all-tournament team for the weekend.
UTSA (6-8) picked up its offensive attack in the final three sets, hitting .297 in the third, .275 in the fourth and a remarkable .647 in the decisive fifth. UAB, meanwhile, after a relatively hot start, cooled off and did not hit better than .158 in any of those final three frames.
The Roadrunners also placed four players in double-digit kills, led by Briana Mason with a match-best 16 and Whitney Walls with 14. UTSA's Kelsey Jewasko led all players in digs with 32 as the Roadrunners out-dug UAB, 96-83.
UTSA's Kelsey Schwirtlich posted a match-best 53 assists, while UAB split the setting duties between Alison Woods and Becca Howard, who finished with 24 assists each.
With this weekend's tournament, UAB wrapped up a stretch of 12 straight matches away from home to start the season. The Blazers will play their home opener at Bartow Arena on Friday at 7 p.m. against SMU. The match will also be UAB's Conference USA opener.
