The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
No. 15 Tulane
UAB Splits on Day Two of Blazer Beach Duals
3/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB beach volleyball team (2-1, 0-1 CCSA) split a pair of matches on the second day of action at the Blazer Beach Duals by defeating New Orleans and falling to conference foe No. 15 Tulane at the West Campus Athletic Complex.
UAB 4, NEW ORLEANS 1
UAB opened the second day of action at the Blazer Beach Duals with a decisive 4-1 victory over New Orleans by tallying victories on courts 2-5.
Playing as a tandem for the first time this season, Emily Martinez and Kenley Adams gave the Blazers a 1-0 advantage by making quick work of UNO’s Rand/Vega on court five, 21-11, 21-9.
The Blazers then surged ahead 2-0 when Gabbi Moreno and Rachel Evans edged Uline/Baker on court four in straight sets, 21-15, 21-17.
Katarina Jovicic and Tressa Buckland secured the team victory with a 21-10, 21-17 victory on court three, while Avery Hoven and Morgan Smith also won in straights, 21-4, 21-15, on court two, making the score 4-0 in favor on UAB.
On court one, Avei Logoleo and Erika Zembyla dropped the first set, but rallied to win the second set 21-15 and forced a decisive third set. The UAB duo was unable to sustain its momentum from set two as UNO’s Cara Sander and Victoria Corcoran won the third 15-5 to claim the victory.
Court 1: Cara Sander/Victoria Corcoran (UNO) def. Avei Logoleo/Erika Zembyla (UAB) – 21-15, 15-21, 15-5
Court 2: Avery Hoven/Morgan Smith (UAB) def. Rachel Kuhn/Blessing Dunn (UNO) – 21-4, 21-15
Court 3: Kat Jovicic/Tressa Buckland (UAB) def. Veronica Corcoran/Lauren Levy (UNO) – 21-10, 21-17
Court 4: Gabbi Moreno/Rachel Evans (UAB) def. Samantha Uline/Karli Baker (UNO) – 21-15, 21-17
Court 5: Emily Martinez/Kenley Adams (UAB) def. Rhyan Rand/Brianna Vega (UNO) – 21-11, 21-9
No. 15 TULANE 5, UAB 0
Despite three of five matches going to three sets, UAB fell to No. 15 Tulane 5-0 in its first Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) match of the season.
“It was a heck of match,” head coach Ashley Hardee said. “We had match point on court four, and we went to three sets on one and five as well. Tulane is a fantastic team and we made them earn every bit of it. It was a lot of fun watching our players today and I am proud of how we competed.”
The matched started with three set thrillers on courts four and five. In the match of the day, Gabbi Moreno and Rachel Evans dropped the first set 21-19 on court four to Strasner/Holmes, but rebounded to win the second set 21-13. In the third and final set, the action went back and forth, and despite having match point on two separate occasions, the UAB duo ultimately lost 19-17.
Emily Martinez and Kenley Adams also forced a third set after losing the opening set, but were outlasted by Tulane’s duo McAfee/Shurtz 15-8, giving the Green Wave a 2-0 team advantage.
The nationally-ranked Green Wave secured the team victory with a 21-18, 21-19 victory on court three, and also captured court two as well, 21-18, 21-13.
The final match to finish was on court one which featured UAB’s Logoleo/Zembyla vs. Tulane’s Mertz/Nguyen Tulane. The Green Wave won the first set 21-13 followed by UAB winning the second 21-18. In the final set, Tulane pulled away 15-8 and claimed the overall match 5-0.
Court 1: Maddie Mertz/Lan Nguyen (Tulane) def. Avei Logoleo/Erika Zembyla (UAB) – 21-13, 18-21, 15-8
Court 2: Tea Juric/Kaylie McHugh (Tulane) def. Avery Hoven/Morgan Smith (UAB) – 21-18, 21-13
Court 3: Briana Carrea/Tarin Mergener (Tulane) def. Kat Jovicic/Tressa Buckland (UAB) – 21-18, 21-19
Court 4: Sarah Strasner/Hannah Holmes (Tulane) def. Gabbi Moreno/Rachel Evans (UAB) – 21-19, 13-21, 19-17
Court 5: Christina McAfee/Annie Shurtz (Tulane) def. Emily Martinez/Kenley Adams (UAB) – 23-21, 18-21, 15-8
Exhibition: Anna Chin/Lindsey Huber (Tulane) def. Haley Jared/Kalah Jones (UAB) – 21-13, 21-11
UAB concludes the Blazer Beach Duals on Sunday with two more matches against ULM at 10 a.m. and Austin Peay at 3 p.m. Continue to follow @UAB_BVB on Twitter and Instagram for updates.
