The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Jacksonville State
UAB Blanks Jacksonville State, Wins Season Opener 5-0
3/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB Beach Volleyball team opened the season in dominant fashion as the Blazers defeated Jacksonville State 5-0 on Friday morning in the first match of the Blazer Beach Duals.
“We were excited to play someone else besides ourselves and we were able to get the butterflies out today,” said head coach Ashley Hardee. “The kids did a good job. They handled their nerves well and competed very hard, which is one thing I always ask of them. With the courts being next to each other, it is easy to look over to another court and lose focus but we did a good job of staying in the moment.”
The Blazers had little trouble with the Gamecocks as each court was decided in straight sets. Gabbi Moreno and Rachel Evans notched UAB’s first win of the season by defeating Schmidt/Hughes 21-9, 21-14 on Court 4 to give UAB a 1-0 advantage.
Haley Jared and Emily Martinez then made it 2-0 in favor of the Blazers with a 21-9, 21-10 victory on Court 5.
The Blazers clinched the team victory when Avery Hoven and Morgan Smith were victorious over Visscher/Kirk on Court 2, 21-12, 21-13.
Katarina Jovicic and Tressa Buckland won on Court 3 by identical scores of 21-14, 21-14 to move UAB ahead 4-0, while Avei Logoleo and Erika Zembyla rounded out the sweep with a 21-18, 21-17 triumph on Court 1.
UAB returns to action on Saturday at 10 a.m. against New Orleans, followed by a CCSA matchup with No. 15 Tulane at 4 p.m. Click here for a full schedule of events.
Court 1: Avei Logoleo/Erika Zembyla (UAB) def. Charis Ludtke/Katie Will (JSU) – 21-18, 21-17
Court 2: Avery Hoven/Morgan Smith (UAB) def. Jae-Lyn Visscher/Hannah Kirk (JSU) – 21-12, 21-13
Court 3: Katarina Jovicic/Tressa Buckland (UAB) def. Sadie Anderson/Maddie Cloutier (JSU) – 21-14, 21-14
Court 4: Gabbi Moreno/Rachel Evans (UAB) def. Shayla Schmidt/Hailey Hughes (JSU) – 21-9, 21-14
Court 5: Haley Jared/Emily Martinez (UAB) def. MacKenzie Rombach/Ashley Clingan (JSU) – 21-9, 21-10
Exhibition: Kenley Adams/Kalah Jones (UAB) def. Kim Krutsinger/Rachel Perucki – 21-14, 21-17
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 2, 3, 1
