The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Mercer
UAB Opens 2013 With 3-0 Sweep Vs. Mercer
8/30/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug 30, 2013
Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB volleyball team (1-0) opened the 2013 season with a 3-0 victory against Mercer (0-1) on Friday morning at Bartow Arena. The match was the first game of the UAB/Samford Volleyball Challenge.
“We got our first win under our belt,” head coach Kerry Messersmith stated. “We were very aggressive and that is what we wanted to do. We came out and served aggressive. We changed our philosophy a little bit with our serving. We missed too many, but still served very aggressive and was able to keep them out of system most of the day.”
The first set was closely contested with the Blazers ultimately edging the Bears, 25-20. A 25-16 second stanza gave the squad a 2-0 advantage at the break.
It all came together for the Green and Gold in the third set. The team hit at a clip of .414 to take the set, 25-18, and secure the win.
Junior Kiriana Hirini led the way for UAB, matching her career-best with 13 kills on the day. Hirini led the team in blocks, as well, registering four (one solo) against Mercer.
Classmate Sara Rishell, in her first match as a member of the UAB squad, tallied 10 kills and registered a team-best .471 attacking percentage. Senior Rachel Fairbanks led the squad with 15 digs and shared the team-lead with two service aces.
”I am really proud of our consistency,” Messersmith concluded. “We have a long, long way to go, but I think we have had a good start.”
UAB will be back on the court tonight when they host No. 6 Minnesota. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For volleyball news, follow @UAB_VB.
