The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
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UTEP
UAB Drops Tight Match with UTEP
9/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB volleyball team fell to UTEP in five sets, 3-2 (25-20, 16-25, 24-26, 25-17, 5-15), on Sunday at Bartow Arena. This was the Blazers’ second Conference USA loss after falling to Middle Tennessee in four sets on Friday.
UAB (7-10, 0-2) hit .103 in the match while UTEP (3-11, 1-1) posted a .133 attack percentage and snapped its six-game losing streak.
Erika Zembyla led the Blazers with 13 kills and was second on the team with a .229 hitting percentage. Haley Jared had 11 kills while Victoria Young struck eight kills and hit .389 to lead the Blazers in the latter category.
Defensively, Young and Petra Silic recorded six total blocks and Emily Martinez tallied a team-high 18 digs.
UAB held UTEP to a .000 attack percentage in the first set and took the early lead with a 25-20 win. The Miners tied the match up with a 25-16 win in the second set.
The third set was back-and-forth the entire time with seven lead changes and 13 ties. The Blazers and Miners both struck 13 kills and had few errors in the set, but with the score tied 24-24 Macy Austin recorded a kill and a service ace to win the match 26-24.
The Blazers’ defense stepped up in the fourth set, holding UTEP to a .100 attack percentage with nine errors as UAB cruised to a 25-17 win, forcing a decisive fifth set. The Miners controlled the entire fifth set and jumped to an early 9-1 lead. UAB couldn’t rally and UTEP won the final set 15-5.
Austin led the Miners’ offense with 18 kills for a .234 attack percentage while Kylie Baumgartner had a match-high 10 total blocks.
The Blazers are on the road this weekend as they travel to Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 30 to face the Charlotte 49ers and then they will head to Miami, Fla., on Oct. 2 to battle the FIU Panthers.
For more information on UAB Athletics, visit UABsports.com. Fans can find UAB volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @UAB_VB or on Facebook at facebook.com/UABVolleyball.
