The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
-32,00 CUSA
Little Rock
2-4,0-0OVC
Blazers Keep Momentum Going in Three-Set Win Over Little Rock
9/3/2022 8:37:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM – The UAB Volleyball Team carried over the energy from their three-set win over Jackson State on Friday into their Saturday evening match against the Little Rock Trojans. The Blazers finished the night with a straight-set victory over Little Rock, improving their home record to 2-0.
"Tonight's sweep was a total team effort," Said Head Coach Betsy Freeburg. "We really challenged our team today to play as a unit, and you could feel the energy and support from the court to the bench the whole match."
The energy was felt immediately in the first set, with the Blazers taking a quick 11-7 lead. UAB tallied up a total of seven kills so far, before advancing the score to a seven-point lead with a pair of aces from Fernanda Maida. The Blazers controlled the entirety of the first set, taking the 1-0 lead with a score of 17-25.
The second set saw a response from the Trojans, who made sure to keep the score within an arm's length of the Blazers. Little Rock's Laure Jensen responded with back-to-back aces to give them a two-point lead early in the set. The Blazers responded with a combination of long rallies and kills from Alex Kells and Kiana Mack, but the Trojans kept the score margin within two points.
In addition to the close quarters in scoring seen throughout the second set, the score tied a total of 11 times in that set alone. The turning point came from a pair of major kills from Mack and Maida to advance the match to 2-0 in favor of the Blazers.
The final set mirrored the first, with UAB taking a lead, and Little Rock in tow. The Trojans tied the score 7-7, but were unable to recover from a 5-0 run from the Blazers. UAB led by as much as nine points before securing set three with a 25-18 win.
The Blazers benefitted from a collective team effort, according to Coach Freeburg. "Alex Kells and Fernanda Maida both had a great match on the left pin, and Chloe Rodriguez and Kiana Mack both hit at a high efficiency in the middle and contributed some big-time blocks in critical points for us. We look forward to carrying this momentum into our match with crosstown rival Samford tomorrow."
UP NEXT
The Blazers close out the weekend tournament taking on an old competitor in the Samford Bulldogs. The Bulldogs and Blazers have met a total of 30 times in the past. UAB holds the lead in the three decade long series, with a total of 26 wins. The last meeting between these two teams comes from 2019, where the Blazers lost 3-1.
"Samford is a well-coached team with a lot of experience winning. They serve the ball really well, and it is going to be a great challenge for us to close out the weekend." Said Coach Freeburg.
The Sunday match is set to start at 2PM in Bartow Arena.
To keep up with the UAB Volleyball Team, follow @UAB_VB on Instagram and Twitter.
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