The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
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UTEP
Volleyball Edged By UTEP, 3-2
10/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Final Stats | Box Score 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB volleyball team fell to UTEP, 3-2, in a close match that spanned five sets on Friday evening. The Blazers finished with a season-best 16.0 blocks as a team.
“We just continue to struggle putting it all together,” head coach Kerry Messersmith said. “We blocked great tonight, but obviously suffered in other areas of the game. We are just having a hard time putting all the pieces together in a match.”
UAB fell to 4-16 overall and 1-4 in Conference USA play, while UTEP improved to 3-14 overall and 1-5 in C-USA. Senior Sara Rishell led the Blazers with 15 kills on the night. Junior Sydney Nelson added 12 kills and sophomore Gabby Deshotel had 10. For the Miners, Coline Coessens finished with a match-high 25 kills.
Seven different players contributed to the 16.0 blocks on the night, with senior Kiriana Hirini leading the team with nine (2 solo, 7 assists). Rishell added six and Treace and Nelson each had four. Senior Bethanie Thomas started at libero for the Blazers, where she picked up a career-high 21 digs.
The Blazers started the night strong with a commanding 25-14 win in the first set after hitting .417. They opened with an 8-1 lead that included three-straight blocks. UAB kept the pressure on UTEP extending its lead to ten points at 20-10. Hirini and Nelson combined for a block to cap off the first set victory.
It was a battle in the second set, as UTEP had taken an 18-12 advantage but UAB rallied its way back into the set to tie it up at 19-19. From there, the teams traded points back-and-forth until the Miners were able to secure the win, 28-26 and tie the match up at 1-1.
Both teams were evenly matched to start the third set, but a 6-0 run by UTEP put the Blazers down 16-10. The Miners held on to take the set, 25-17 and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
With the fourth set a must win for UAB, the Blazers battled into extra points for a 26-24 win to force a deciding fifth set. UAB was in control most of the set, but had to fight off a rally by UTEP who tied it up at 24-24 after trailing 20-12. Back-to-back kills by Hirini and Nelson gave UAB the win.
The Blazers were unable to carry the momentum over into the fifth set, as UTEP jumped out to a 5-2 lead early and extended it to 9-4 to force a UAB timeout. Hirini landed a kill out of the timeout, but another Miner run put UAB down 13-6 and UTEP held on for a 15-8 win.
UAB will be back in action on Sunday, Oct. 12 when it hosts UTSA at 12 p.m. CT.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For volleyball news, follow @UAB_VB.
