UAB Defeats Mercer, Falls to No. 17 Tulane at Blazer Beach Duals

Saturday, March 17

Birmingham, Ala.

10:00 am

UAB

Mercer

UAB Defeats Mercer, Falls to No. 17 Tulane at Blazer Beach Duals

3/17/2018 5:33:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB beach volleyball team split a pair of matches on the final day of the Blazer Beach Duals with a 3-2 victory over Mercer and a 4-1 defeat to No. 17 Tulane on Saturday at the West Campus Athletic Complex.

Grad transfer Devon May and sophomore Kenley Adams won both of their matches on court one and the Blazers' top duo is now 5-0 together this season.

UAB 3, MERCER 2

UAB opened the day with a 3-2 victory over Mercer in which three of the five matches went to three sets, and with the win the Blazers evened the all-time series with the Bears 9-9.

The Blazers took a 1-0 lead with a straight set victory as Gabbi Moreno and Emily Martinez defeated Mercer's Lela McIntosh and Emilee Wissmach by identical scores of 21-17, 21-17.

Mercer evened the match on court five with a three-set victory, but the Blazers surged ahead 2-1 as Tressa Buckland and Kaylee McClure topped Amber Gibson and Gracie Garanich 21-14, 21-17.

Moments later the Blazers secured the team victory on court one as Kenley Adams and Devon May won their fourth consecutive match as partners with a three-set 21-12, 19-21, 15-11 triumph over Sophie Peel and Kacy Ogden.

With the match already decided, court two went in favor of the Bears. UAB's Haley Jared and Avei Logoleo battled back after dropping the first set 22-20 to win the second stanza 21-15, but ultimately fell 15-13 in the third.

No. 17 TULANE 4, UAB 1

Like the Mercer match, three of the five courts against Tulane went three sets, including court one in which UAB's Devon May and Kenley Adams came out victorious.

The Green Wave jumped on top with a three-set thriller on court five over Emily Martinez and Gabbi Moreno. The first two sets flip-flopped with 21-19 scores, and Tulane then outlasted the Blazers 15-12 in the decisive set.

Tulane won on court four in straight sets, and once again won a very closely contested three-set match on court three over UAB's Tressa Buckland and Kaylee McClure, 21-23, 21-19, 15-13.

The Green Wave surged ahead 4-0 with a straight set victory on court two, and in the final of the day Adams and May got UAB on the board with the three-set victory.

The Blazers return to action next weekend at the South Carolina Invitational in which they will play TCU, UNC Wilmington, No. 5 Hawaii and No. 9 South Carolina.

UAB 3, MERCER 2
Court 1: Kenley Adams/Devon May (UAB) def. Sophie Peel/Kacy Ogden (Mercer) – 21-12, 19-21, 15-11
Court 2: Jessica Johnson/Elli Gibson (Mercer) def. Avei Logoleo/Haley Jared (UAB) – 22-20, 15-21, 15-13
Court 3: Tressa Buckland/Kaylee McClure (UAB) def. Amber Gibson/Gracie Garanich (Mercer) – 21-14, 21-17
Court 4: Gabbi Moreno/Emily Martinez (UAB) def. Lela McIntosh/Emilee Wissmach (Mercer) – 21-17, 21-17
Court 5: Kylie Keeling/Elli Merchant (Mercer) def. Erin Bognar/SalliAnne Napolitano (UAB) – 21-23, 21-19, 15-8
Exh: Annie Pringle/Alex Kells (UAB) def. Gabbi Murino/Emily McStiney (UCA) – 21-17

MATCH NINE: No. 17 TULANE 4, UAB 1
Court 1: Kenley Adams/Devon May (UAB) vs. Maddie Mertz/Kaylie McHugh (Tulane) – 21-19, 13-21, 15-12
Court 2: Lan Nguyen/Tarin Mergener (Tulane) def. Avei Logoleo/Haley Jared (UAB) – 21-17, 21-18
Court 3: Anna Chin/Addie Hermstad (Tulane) def. Tressa Buckland/Kaylee McClure (UAB) – 21-23, 21-19, 15-13
Court 4: Rio Frohoff/Ashley Delgado (Tulane) def. Erin Bognar/SalliAnne Napolitano (UAB) – 21-19, 21-16
Court 5: Lauren Orlich/Gabby Becerra (Tulane) def. Gabbi Moreno/Emily Martinez (UAB) – 19-21, 21-19, 15-12
Exh: Briana Correa/Morgan Esters (Tulane) def. Annie Pringle/Alex Kells (UAB) – 21-17, 21-18