UAB Avenges Loss to Middle Tennessee, Sweeping the Blue Raiders in Straight Sets

Sunday, October 28

Birmingham / Bartow Arena

1:00 PM

UAB

-1312, 56 CUSA

Middle Tennessee

-717, 28 CUSA

Middle Tennessee

UAB

UAB Avenges Loss to Middle Tennessee, Sweeping the Blue Raiders in Straight Sets

10/28/2018 5:08:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

BIRMINGHAM – Looking to avenge a loss earlier this season to Middle Tennessee, the UAB volleyball team came out attacking and sent the Blue Raiders home, winning in straight sets (25-22, 25-23, 25-16).

Emma Mitchell followed up her career night on Friday with another strong performance for the Blazers. The outside hitter paced the offense with 11 kills off a .417 hitting percentage while scoring a block, a service ace and four digs.

"I'm really proud of Emma, she wasn't able to play last weekend and she has bounced back in a big way this week," head coach Amy Pauly said. "She played really well out of system and in the back row."

Feeding Mitchell the ball was sophomore setter Shelby Holderfield who followed up her big night on Friday with 30 assists, two service aces and five digs against Middle Tennessee.

Emily Rudolph and Alex Kells each picked up eight kills and a service ace on Sunday with Victoria Young close behind with seven kills. Young added three blocks to her total on the day.

"I think the match itself was a very offensive match and the serve and pass for both teams wasn't great," Pauly said. "We did a good job of limiting our errors and controlling what we could control and creating offense off of that."

Set One: UAB 25, Middle Tennessee 22

Each team traded points to open the match but UAB used a four-point run to claim a 10-6 lead early on. The Blazers extended the lead out to 21-15 and looked to be in control of the first set, but a late rally by Middle Tennessee closed the gap to two at 24-22, forcing a UAB timeout. The Blue Raiders served out of the timeout and Rudolph was able to come up with a big kill for the Green and Gold, giving UAB the first set win, 25-22.

UAB hit .250 in the opening set while holding Middle Tennessee to a .172 hitting percentage.

Set Two: UAB 25, Middle Tennessee 23

Middle Tennessee (7-17, 2-8 C-USA) jumped out to an early 5-2 lead, but another four-point run by UAB swung the momentum and the score in favor of the Blazers as they took a 6-5 lead. The score remained close for the rest of the second set with the Blue Raiders eventually tying it up at 21-21. However, UAB closed on a 4-2 run, taking the second set 25-23.

UAB (13-12, 5-6 C-USA) had the offense humming, registering 16 kills and hitting at a .324 clip in the second. The Blazer defense held Middle Tennessee to 11 kills and a .214 hitting percentage.

Set Three: UAB 25, Middle Tennessee 16

After surrendering an early lead to begin the final set, UAB found its offensive rhythm and quickly retook lead. The Blue Raiders again kept the set close at 14-12 but Abby Carlile helped blow set wide open as she and the Blazers rattled off nine straight points, taking a 23-12 lead. Carlile's serves kept the Blue Raiders off balance and allowed the Blazer offense to go to work. Middle Tennessee went on a short 3-1 run late, but Holderfield dumped the ball over her right shoulder and the net, dropping it just out of the reach of a Blue Raider defender for the final point of the set and match.

Up Next:

UAB will head out on its final road trip of the season beginning on Friday, November 2 at Southern Miss before wrapping up at Rice on Sunday, November 4. The Blazers return home for Senior Night and their final regular season match of the year on Thursday, November 8 against WKU.

Single game tickets are on sale for $5 for adults and $3 for youth and can be purchased at the gate, online at uabsports.com, or by calling the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1.

Fans can receive access to every volleyball, men's soccer, women's basketball, baseball and softball game for the entire 2018-19 season by purchasing a Gold Card. Contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 for more details.