The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Southern Miss
UAB Volleyball Falls To Southern Miss, 3-1
10/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The UAB volleyball team fell to Southern Miss, 3-1, on Friday night in Conference USA play. The Blazers set a season-high with 19.0 blocks on the night.
UAB fell to 6-18 overall and 3-6 in conference play, while Southern Miss improved to 17-9 overall and 6-3 in the league. The Golden Eagles out-hit the Blazers with a .204 hitting percentage to UAB's .094.
Sophomore Gabby Deshotel led the Blazers with 14 kills on the night, while seniors Sara Rishell and Bethanie Thomas each added seven. Sophomore Amber Treace dished out 34 helpers to the UAB hitters.
Defensively, Thomas led the Blazers with 19 digs and sophomore Emma Schroer had her third-straight double figure dig performance with 16. UAB finished with a season-best 19.0 team blocks. Senior Kiriana Hirini tied her career-high with 10 blocks and Rishell added six.
The Blazers were off to a slow start offensively in the first set, as Southern Miss took the win 25-14 to go up 1-0. UAB rebounded in the second set to top the Golden Eagles for a 28-26 win to tie the match at 1-1.
Despite trailing early, UAB tied it up 11-11 and used a 5-0 run to take a 16-13 lead in the second set. Southern Miss battled back to tie the set at 17-17, where the teams then traded points. The Blazers took a 27-26 advantage after a service ace from Hirini and a kill by Rishell secured the win.
In the third set the teams remained close until a 4-0 run by the Golden Eagles gave them an 11-6 lead to force a timeout by the Blazers. UAB came back to tie the set at 12-12. The teams saw three more ties, with the final coming at 19-19. However, Southern Miss used a 6-2 run to close out the set, 25-21 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Southern Miss came out strong in the fourth set, leading 3-0 early. UAB was able to cut the lead to one, 8-7, but was unable to get any closer as the Golden Eagles held on for a 25-19 win to take the match.
UAB will remain on the road to take on Rice at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For volleyball news, follow @UAB_VB.
