The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Middle Tennessee
Volleyball Captures Sixth Straight Win
10/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 16, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Sam Serley recorded her 500th career block as the UAB volleyball team captured its sixth straight victory by defeating Middle Tennessee, 3-1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-16, 25-22) on Tuesday night at Bartow Arena.
The Blazers will take their six-match win streak on the road this weekend, first to Huntington, W.Va. to battle Marshall on Friday night, before heading east to play another Conference USA foe in East Carolina on Sunday.
“Last Sunday (against UCF) we played with so much emotion, probably with more emotion than from any team in any match I’ve coached since I’ve been here,” head coach Kerry Messersmith said. “Tonight we definitely played well in the first set, but Middle Tennessee was able to capitalize on us being flat. Middle Tennessee has a tremendously athletic team. They are very young and if they stay together in the next few years they are going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
Serley, who finished the night with seven blocks (one solo, six assists) became just the third player in UAB history to reach 500 career blocks. The senior joins Hilary Beck (1988-92) and Hailey Isham (1995-98) who recorded 547 and 535 blocks as Blazers, respectively.
Furthermore, Serley is just the ninth player in C-USA history to reach the 500-block milestone.
In addition to her seven swats, Serley put away 11 kills for the Blazers, which improved to 13-11 overall and closed out a homestand with a perfect 5-0 record.
Also reaching double figures in kills were outside hitters Sam Skinner and Ally Slaughter. Skinner connected for 12 kills, added 13 digs and five blocks for a solid all around game. Slaughter posted a team-best 13 put-aways and nine digs in the victory.
“Sam Skinner came out and did a nice job for us with five blocks and I’m really proud of her performance on the outside,” Messersmith said.
MTSU (7-18) was led by Chelsea Ross, who connected for a match-high 23 kills and adding 14 digs, while Tyler Richardson hit at a .529 (10k-1e-17ta) clip in a losing effort.
“I think we are heading in the right direction and the kids are gaining more confidence every time we go out, which is important for us the rest of the season and for the conference tournament,” Messersmith said.
