The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
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Southern Methodist University
UAB Travels to SMU and Tulane for Non-Divisional Matchup
10/26/2023 1:43:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM – UAB Volleyball Travels to Dallas and New Orleans to close out the final week of October. The Blazers take on the SMU Mustangs and Tulane Green Wave on October 27 and 29.
UAB faces off against an SMU squad, who comes off a six-match win-streak spanning three weeks. The Blazers also take on Tulane, looking for their first AAC victory in their non-divisional meeting versus Charlotte and the Green and 2Gold.
UAB (3-20, 1-10 AAC) vs. SMU (16-6, 10-1 AAC)
7 PM | Dallas, Texas | Moody Coliseum
WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
The Blazers take on a Southern Methodist team who defeated Rice in a four and five-setter last weekend to extend their conference record to 10-1. The Mustangs sit at the top of the AAC West, beating out Wichita State and Rice with a .909 win record.
For the week of Oct. 23, the Mustangs' Jamison Wheeler was named the Offensive Player of the Week in the AAC for the third consecutive week. Selected as the preseason player of the year for the AAC, Wheeler leads the team in kills with 250. She posted a double-double with a 15-kill, 14-dig weekend versus Rice. In addition to Wheeler, Natalie Perdue trails behind with 242 total kills. As a team, the Mustangs have an attack percentage of .243 and hold opponents to .191.
Defensively, SMU ranks third in digs in the AAC, with 16.31 per set. The Mustangs held a then-receiving votes Florida State to a hitting percentage of .258 before going on to defeat then-No. 14 Baylor in a five-setter. SMU outdug the Bears 70 to 64.
UAB (3-20, 1-10 AAC) vs. Tulane (4-18, 0-10 AAC)
2 PM | New Orleans, La. | Fogelman Arena
WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
SCOUTING THE GREEN WAVE
Tulane revisits UAB for the first time since 2021, where UAB fell to the Green Wave in three sets at Bartow Arena. The Green Wave, who are winless in conference play, have totaled 905 kills throughout the season as of Oct. 26, allowing 1081 kills to their opponents.
Defensively, the Green Wave has two top-ten-ranked players in blocks: Sabrina Skyers and Orsula Staka. Skyers totals 86 blocks, leading the Green Wave with an average of 1.16 per set. Staka follows behind with 70, averaging 1.08 per set. The Green Wave is ranked fourth in digs, led by Lauryn Burrows. The Florida State transfer holds 362 digs as of Oct. 26, with a career-high 25 against Weber St.
As a squad, Tulane bests UAB in hitting percentage, while the Blazers beat out the Green Wave in kills, averaging 11.46 to the Green Wave's 11.27. The Blazers and Green Wave stand neck-and-neck in aces, with the Blazers ranking eighth in the AAC and the Green Wave ranked ninth.
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