The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Volleyball Treks To Florida Atlantic and FIU
10/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
UAB (4-13, 1-1 C-USA) at Florida Atlantic (11-5, 2-1 C-USA)
Friday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. CT
Boca Raton, Fla.
Coverage: Watch | Live Stats
UAB (4-13, 1-1 C-USA) at FIU (3-12, 0-2 C-USA)
Sunday, Oct. 5 at 12 p.m. CT
Miami, Fla.
Coverage: Live Stats
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB volleyball team returns to Conference USA play this weekend when it travels to Florida Atlantic and FIU. The Blazers are set to play the Owls on Friday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. CT, then the Panthers on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 12 p.m. CT.
UAB (4-13, 1-1 C-USA) split its first weekend against league opponents, falling to Charlotte on Friday, but sweeping Louisiana Tech on Sunday. Most recently, the Blazers fell in a tough five-set match to Samford on Tuesday night.
The match included 40 ties and 14 lead changes. Sophomore Gabby Deshotel led UAB with 20 kills, junior Sydney Nelson had 13 kills and senior Bethanie Thomas added 12. UAB also finished with 12 blocks, led by Nelson’s seven.
UAB Among Conference USA
The Blazers are leading the conference in blocks and digs by opponents. UAB is allowing just 1.70 blocks per set and 11.79 digs per set by its opponents so far this season. Senior Sara Rishell is currently ninth individually, with a season .334 hitting percentage.
Series History
This will be just the second meeting between UAB and Florida Atlantic. The two teams had not met until 2013, when the Owls joined Conference USA. In last season’s match, UAB won 3-0.
UAB and FIU are meeting for the fifth time, with the Panthers holding a 3-1 advantage in the series. FIU also joined the conference last season. The two teams met on Oct. 11 in Miami, with FIU taking the win, 3-0.
Scouting the Opposition
Florida Atlantic (11-5, 2-1 C-USA) split its matches this past weekend. The Owls fell to UTSA, 3-1, and defeated UTEP 3-0. Four players are averaging over two kills, with Brittney Brown leading the way with 2.66 kills per set. Brown also leads the team with 38 blocks on the season. Katarina Stepanovic leads the conference in hitting percentage, with a clip of .414. As a team, Florida Atlantic leads the conference in opponent hitting percentage, holding teams to just a .155 clip.
FIU (3-12, 0-2 C-USA) is coming off a 3-0 loss to Marshall and will host WKU on Friday before taking on UAB. Lucia Castro is leading the Panthers with 3.09 kills per set, which ranks 10th in C-USA. Setter Anabela Sataric is averaging 8.29 assists per set and Gloria Levorin is leading FIU at the net with 0.96 blocks per set.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For volleyball news, follow @UAB_VB.
