The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Saturday, November 7
Bowling Green, Ky.
11:00 a.m.
UAB
at
WKU
UAB Volleyball Opens 2020-21 Season at WKU Saturday Morning
11/6/2020 1:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM —UAB volleyball looks to open the Fall season in Bowling Green, Ky. as they take on Western Kentucky Saturday morning. Later in the day, the Blazers will face off with Middle Tennessee in an exhibition match.
UAB (0-0) at WKU (0-0)
Nov. 7 | 11 a.m. | Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena
WATCH | LIVE STATS
UAB vs. MIDDLE TENNESSEE – EXHIBITION MATCH
Nov. 7 | 2:30 p.m. | Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena
LIVE STATS
SERIES REVIEW
vs. Western Kentucky
Overall: 23-12 | Conference: 1-9 | Home: 5-5 | Away: 8-5 | Neutral: 10-2 | Streak: WKU, W3
The series dates back to 1983 when the Hilltoppers and Blazers were both in the Sun Belt Conference. Since joining Conference USA in 2014, WKU has taken none out of the 10 matchups. The last win for UAB came in 2018 when the Blazers won 3-1 in Bowling Green.
SCOUTING WKU
- The Lady Hilltoppers finished first in the Conference USA standings last season with a perfect 14-0 record, 32-2 overall. In the NCAA Tournament, WKU lost in the second round to Louisville.
- WKU returns the 2019 C-USA Player of the Year, Lauren Matthews, Setter of the Year, Nadia Dieudonne and Freshman of the Year, Paige Briggs. Dieudonne recorded 1296 assists last season, which ranked 27th in the nation.
- Matthews led the NCAA in hitting percentage with .457.
- As a team, the Hilltoppers ranked in the top 10 nationally in aces per set (1.85, 7th), team aces (211, 9th), hitting percentage (.304, 2nd) and opposite hitting percentage (.154, 10th).
UAB ROSTER BREAKDOWN
- The Blazers add six newcomers to this year's squad, four freshman and two transfers. Three starters and a libero return for UAB.
- Returning for UAB is Conference USA All-Freshman Team member Fernanda Maida. Maida was fourth on the team in kills last season (167) and third in attack percentage (.228).
- Abby Carlile returns for her senior season while Alex Kells leads a group of three juniors.
FREEBURG ERA
- On July 2, 2020 UAB Athletics Director Mark Ingram announced the hiring of Betsy Freeburg as the ninth head coach in program history.
- Freeburg comes from Samford where she was an assistant coach for the past three seasons.
- In addition, Ryan Freeburg came on as associate head coach on Aug. 7, 2020.
- Shawn McLaughlin enters his third season as assistant coach.
QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH BETSY FREEBURG
"After much anticipation, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to compete against other opponents. Our team has worked hard this fall and we are looking forward to putting out work to test this weekend against two C-USA opponents. This will give us a good idea of what we need to work on heading into the spring schedule."
FALL SCHEDULE UPDATES
- Check UABSports.com for the latest updates to the 2020-21 schedule as dates and times are subject to change.
- Despite Fall championships being pushed until Spring 2021, all Fall games will count towards UAB's overall 2020-21 season record as per the NCAA.
- Even though WKU is a Conference USA opponent, the matchup will not count towards C-USA records.
Volleyball season tickets are on sale by purchasing the 2020-21 Gold Card for $65 here. The Gold Card is an exclusive offer that grants you admission into all UAB men's and women's soccer, volleyball, women's basketball, baseball and softball events for the upcoming academic year. Contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 for more details.
For more information on the UAB volleyball team, follow @UAB_VB on Twitter and Instagram.
UAB (0-0) at WKU (0-0)
Nov. 7 | 11 a.m. | Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena
WATCH | LIVE STATS
UAB vs. MIDDLE TENNESSEE – EXHIBITION MATCH
Nov. 7 | 2:30 p.m. | Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena
LIVE STATS
SERIES REVIEW
vs. Western Kentucky
Overall: 23-12 | Conference: 1-9 | Home: 5-5 | Away: 8-5 | Neutral: 10-2 | Streak: WKU, W3
The series dates back to 1983 when the Hilltoppers and Blazers were both in the Sun Belt Conference. Since joining Conference USA in 2014, WKU has taken none out of the 10 matchups. The last win for UAB came in 2018 when the Blazers won 3-1 in Bowling Green.
SCOUTING WKU
- The Lady Hilltoppers finished first in the Conference USA standings last season with a perfect 14-0 record, 32-2 overall. In the NCAA Tournament, WKU lost in the second round to Louisville.
- WKU returns the 2019 C-USA Player of the Year, Lauren Matthews, Setter of the Year, Nadia Dieudonne and Freshman of the Year, Paige Briggs. Dieudonne recorded 1296 assists last season, which ranked 27th in the nation.
- Matthews led the NCAA in hitting percentage with .457.
- As a team, the Hilltoppers ranked in the top 10 nationally in aces per set (1.85, 7th), team aces (211, 9th), hitting percentage (.304, 2nd) and opposite hitting percentage (.154, 10th).
UAB ROSTER BREAKDOWN
- The Blazers add six newcomers to this year's squad, four freshman and two transfers. Three starters and a libero return for UAB.
- Returning for UAB is Conference USA All-Freshman Team member Fernanda Maida. Maida was fourth on the team in kills last season (167) and third in attack percentage (.228).
- Abby Carlile returns for her senior season while Alex Kells leads a group of three juniors.
FREEBURG ERA
- On July 2, 2020 UAB Athletics Director Mark Ingram announced the hiring of Betsy Freeburg as the ninth head coach in program history.
- Freeburg comes from Samford where she was an assistant coach for the past three seasons.
- In addition, Ryan Freeburg came on as associate head coach on Aug. 7, 2020.
- Shawn McLaughlin enters his third season as assistant coach.
QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH BETSY FREEBURG
"After much anticipation, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to compete against other opponents. Our team has worked hard this fall and we are looking forward to putting out work to test this weekend against two C-USA opponents. This will give us a good idea of what we need to work on heading into the spring schedule."
FALL SCHEDULE UPDATES
- Check UABSports.com for the latest updates to the 2020-21 schedule as dates and times are subject to change.
- Despite Fall championships being pushed until Spring 2021, all Fall games will count towards UAB's overall 2020-21 season record as per the NCAA.
- Even though WKU is a Conference USA opponent, the matchup will not count towards C-USA records.
Volleyball season tickets are on sale by purchasing the 2020-21 Gold Card for $65 here. The Gold Card is an exclusive offer that grants you admission into all UAB men's and women's soccer, volleyball, women's basketball, baseball and softball events for the upcoming academic year. Contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 for more details.
For more information on the UAB volleyball team, follow @UAB_VB on Twitter and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
OPP/OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
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