Blazers Take Out FIU In Straight Sets

Sunday, October 1

Birmingham, Ala.

1:00 PM

UAB

9-10, 3-1

FIU

2-7, 1-2

FIU

UAB

Blazers Take Out FIU In Straight Sets

10/1/2017 4:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB volleyball team raced past FIU Sunday afternoon at Bartow Arena, beating the Panthers in straight sets (25-16, 25-20, 25-19).

UAB (9-10, 3-1 C-USA) bounced back in a big way after the loss on Friday night by jumping out quick on FIU in the first set, 11-1. The Blazers cruised to the first set 25-16. The second set was much tighter as the Panthers kept the score to within three point for most of the set.

The Green and Gold turned it on late however, and finished off FIU 25-20. In the third set, UAB trailed twice. It fell behind early but quickly recovered to take the lead. Midway through the set the Blazers fell behind again but went on an 8-2 run to take command of the third set.

FIU (2-7, 1-2) fought off set and match point twice but the Blazers finished it off with a big kill from Gabby Deshotel to take the third set 25-19 and the match 3-0.

Deshotel led the way for UAB in this one as she racked up 13 kills, nine digs, and scored two service aces. Haley Jared saw a return to form as she hit .233 with 12 kills and four blocks.

Erika Zembyla had a solid outing as well recoding seven kills, five digs and firing home four service aces. Freshman setter Shelby Holderfield continued to impress with 36 assists, four digs and two kills of her own.

"It was a solid performance all-around," head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "We continue to play together and continue to fight for every point. We've still got a long way to go but we're going in the right direction."

UAB had its best hitting performance of the season as it hit .286 in the first set and then had a hitting percentage of .333 in both the second and third sets. The defense for UAB was stout as well, holding FIU's hitting percentage under .155 in each set. The Blazer defense also blocked 11 attack attempts.

Up Next:

The Blazers will head back out on the road for matches against North Texas on Friday, Oct. 6 and at Louisiana Tech on Sunday, Oct. 8. Both matches can be seen on Conference USA TV.