The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
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UNC Asheville
Volleyball Sweeps UNC Asheville, Posts Perfect Weekend
8/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 27, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Sam Serley recorded 11 kills and Heather Thomas corralled 24 digs, both match highs, as the UAB volleyball team swept UNC Asheville 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-21) on Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.
The Blazers finished with a perfect 3-0 record in the UAB/Samford Invitational, after defeating both Akron and Arkansas State on Friday.
“We are happy to start the season off 3-0 but today was not a fun way to win a game,” head coach Kerry Messersmith. “We made error, after error, after error and we were a different team than we were yesterday.
“This weekend I think we saw sparks of a very good, very good team, but we have a long ways to go and a lot of things to improve on.”
The 3-0 start for the volleyball program marks the first time a UAB squad has won its first three matches to open a season since 2007, when the Blazers began the year with four consecutive victories.
Serley’s 11 kills came on 19 total attacks, making only four miscues for a .368 hitting percentage. Also putting forth a strong offensive showing was Michele Simmons, who nailed down six kills on 12 attempts with no errors committed (.500).
Setters Becca Howard and Alison Woods shared duties of running the Blazers’ offense, each dishing out 15 assists in the win.
UAB took full advantage of UNC Asheville’s (1-2) struggles to put the ball over the net as the Bulldogs ended the match with an attacking clip of .034 (30K-26E-119TA).
In the opening stanza, the Blazers found themselves down two points (10-8) after UNC Asheville’s Cindi Miller recorded a kill. A 6-0 run put UAB back in the driver’s seat, up 14-10 and would hold on to claim the set one victory.
The second frame was close throughout its deration, featuring seven ties, three lead changes, as the advantage never reached more than five points. Kirsten Gallagher, who had a breakout weekend for the Blazers, smoked back-to-back aces and Ally Slaughter slammed home a kill during an 8-1 rally, putting UAB up 13-9.
The four-point lead would later evaporate, as the teams were squared up at 23-23 after the Bulldogs laced an ace. The Blazers responded, with a kill from Serley and ace from Slaughter and eventually hang on for the 26-24 victory.
UNC Asheville would not go away quieting even after falling in the first two sets. The Bulldogs ballooned a lead to five points, owning an 11-6 cushion. However, that cushion was slowly deflated as the Blazers rallied to knot the score at 13-all, thanks to Thomas holding serve for four-straight points.
The score would even up four more times, before UAB pulled away to claim the set and the match.
UAB is back on the court Friday, Sept. 2 with a pair of matches at UT Martin as part of the First State Skyhawk Invitational. The Blazers will battle the tournament host at 1:00 p.m. CT, and later take on Illinois State at 5:00 p.m. CT.
