UAB Volleyball Splits First Day of Fight Like Hal Tournament

Friday, September 18

Birmingham, Ala.

2:00 PM

UAB

UMass-Lowell

UAB Volleyball Splits First Day of Fight Like Hal Tournament

9/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Sept. 18, 2015

UMass Lowell Final Stats | Box Score

Ole Miss Final Stats | Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB volleyball team (5-9) split the first day of action in the Fight Like Hal Memorial Tournament with a win over UMass Lowell before losing to Ole Miss Friday in Bartow Arena.

"We played toe-to-toe with Ole Miss early," said head coach Kerry Messersmith. "I am very proud of the girls. Amy [Hunter] came out and just had a fantastic night. Amber [Treace] did a great job. Even on scrambling plays, she had beautiful setbacks. We served tough. There were times where our passing broke down, and that hurt us. The most positive thing: our kids stayed intense. They played point-to-point, and that's what we need them to do all year long. We will compete with anyone we play."

The Blazers opened the tournament with a 3-1 win over UMass Lowell (2-11). Redshirt freshman Zahria Ri'chard hit for a .538 clip with eight kills in the match. Junior Gabby Deshotel led the way with 16 kills while junior Amy Hunter tallied 12 kills for the Blazers.

The Green and Gold closed Friday's action with a 3-1 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels (13-1). Hunter recorded a breakout performance with 16 kills for a .423 attack percentage.

Hunter shined on the court with a total of 28 kills and a .438 attack percentage over Friday's matches. The junior added two digs and seven blocks for the Blazers on Friday.

"She's just a nice player," said Messersmith. "She started the season out like that, but she got a little timid a few weeks ago. She came out and played tonight exactly the way we know she can."

UMASS Lowell (W, 3-1)

The Green and Gold came out on fire in the first set, 25-19, to set the tone. UMass Lowell answered back in a back-and-forth set two, 26-24, but the Blazers slammed the door with dominating performances in the third and fourth sets (25-22, 25-9) to win the match, 4-1.

Deshotel led the offense in kills with 16 while adding five digs. Hunter was close behind with 12 kills for UAB for a .455 clip and four block assists. Ri'chard added eight kills and garnered a team-leading .538 hit percentage.

Junior Amber Treace set up the lethal offense with 40 assists and added one kill and two service aces. Junior Emma Schroer headed the defensive attack with 17 digs.

Ole Miss (L, 3-1)

UAB battled the SEC opponent to the limit in the first two sets, barely dropping the first set 25-21 before taking set two 25-23, to leave the teams tied at 1-all at the intermission.

The Rebels would come back from the break to win sets three and four (25-18, 25-12) to claim the match, 3-1.

Hunter recorded a season-high 16 kills to lead the UAB offense. Hunter swung at a .423 clip on the night and added three block assists for the Blazers.

Treace picked up 35 assists at the setter position while libero Schroer led the defense with 18 digs.

UAB returns to the court on Saturday for the final day of the Fight Like Hal Memorial Tournament. The Blazers will open the action with Mississippi Valley State at 10 a.m., before closing the tournament with Jacksonville State at 4 p.m.

For more information on the UAB volleyball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_VB). For more on all Blazersports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).