The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Volleyball To Compete In Miami (OH) Invitational
9/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
UAB (3-8) vs. Ohio State (6-3)
Friday, Sept. 19 at 3 p.m. CT
Miami, Ohio - Millett Hall
Coverage: Live Stats
UAB (3-8) at Miami (5-4)
Saturday, Sept. 20 at 11 a.m. CT
Miami, Ohio - Millett Hall
Coverage: Watch | Live Stats
UAB (3-8) vs. IUPUI (5-7)
Saturday, Sept. 20 at 3:30 p.m. CT
Miami, Ohio - Millett Hall
Coverage: Live Stats
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB volleyball team will compete in the Miami (OH) Invitational this weekend in its final non-conference tournament of the season. The Blazers will play Ohio State on Friday, Sept. 19 at 3 p.m. CT, then return on Saturday, Sept. 20 to take on Miami at 11 a.m. and IUPUI at 3:30 p.m. CT.
Fans can watch a live stream of the UAB vs. Miami (OH) match on Saturday and follow all of the other matches on live stats through muredhawks.com.
Notes
Last Time Out
In its most recent outing, UAB traveled just down the road to Tuscaloosa for a mid-week match with Alabama. The Blazers fell to the Crimson Tide, 3-0 in the match.
Senior Sara Rishell and sophomore Gabby Deshotel led UAB with six kills each, while sophomore setter Amber Treaced dished out 15 assists and added four kills on the night. It was the second time the Blazers faced an SEC opponent on the road this season.
Blazers Among C-USA
Two players currently rank in the top-10 among Conference USA. Senior Sara Rishell is eighth in hitting percentage among players in the league. Rishell currently boasts a team-best .337 attack percentage. She has 93 kills on 199 attempts with just 26 errors in 40 sets played. Fellow senior Leslie Ekpe is leading UAB at the net with 41.0 total blocks so far. Ekpe is ninth in the conference with an average of 1.02 blocks per set.
Series History
UAB has faced two of its three opponents in school history. The Blazers will take on Ohio State on Friday, Sept. 19, which will be the first meeting between the two teams. This is the fourth team that UAB has played for the first time this season.
It will be the fourth meeting between UAB and tournament-host Miami (OH) University. The two teams have not met since the 1990 season, when Miami defeated UAB, 3-1, on Sept. 19. The Blazers will look to earn their first win over the Redhawks, who hold a 3-0 advantage in the series.
This will be just the second meeting for UAB and IUPUI. The only other meeting came back on Oct. 29, 1982. The Blazers and Jaguars played to just two sets in that match, with UAB winning 2-0.
Scouting the Opposition
Ohio State (6-3) most recently competed in the Millenium Hotel Invitational, where it won two of its three matches. The Buckeyes defeated Syracuse, 3-2, and Xavier, 3-2, but fell to Ohio, 3-1. Taylor Sandbothe leads Ohio State with 121 kills to average 3.27 kills per set. Two players are averaging over 1.00 blocks per set, as Sandbothe is also leading the Buckeyes in that category with 1.62 per set.
Miami (OH) University (5-4) is coming off the CEFCU Classic after finishing 1-2 in the tournament. The Redhawks defeated Bradley, 3-1, but fell to North Dakota State, 3-1, and UMKC, 3-1. Olivia Rusek and Paige Hill are leading the attack for Miami with 86 and 85 kills, respectively. Maeve McDonald is averaging 4.06 digs per set to lead the defense. The Redhawks are hitting a clip of .245, while holding opponents to just .194 attack percentage.
IUPUI (5-7) will have a quick turnaround after a win over Indiana, 3-1, on Wednesday night. Kaitlyn Hickey leads the Jaguars with 133 kills (3.09/set) and is also second on the team with 123 digs. Kelly Wachtel has contributed 125 kills and Logan Walling leads the team with 36 blocks this season.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For volleyball news, follow @UAB_VB.
