The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Friday, August 23
Birmingham, Ala.
6 PM
UAB
vs
Alabama State (EXH.)
2024 UAB Volleyball Season Preview
8/22/2024 3:32:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM - The UAB Volleyball team will start the season with a home exhibition match against Alabama State. First serve will be on Friday at 6 p.m. in Bartow Arena.
Alabama State will travel 91 miles up Interstate 65 to get to Birmingham on Friday. The Hornets finished the 2023 campaign with an 18-13 record, winning one game in the conference tournament. The Hornets started off the season 1-12 before winning 16 straight games and going undefeated in conference play.
UAB will look to improve on their 7th place finish in the American Athletic Conference east division last year. The AAC has taken away the divisions and added a conference tournament to the 2024 volleyball season. UAB will officially start their season on August 30th against Alcorn State. The Blazers are led by 5th year Head Coach Betsy Freeburg, as well as Associate Head Coach Ryan Freeburg and Assistant Coach Ashley Veach.
"With each new season there is always great anticipation and excitement to get started," said Head Coach Betsy Freeburg. "This year we have a great combination of determined returners and eager freshmen, which has been a lot of fun to coach. This 2024 roster is position by position the deepest we have been in years, and the team is competing hard each day. They are holding both themselves and each other to a high level, even as they are growing individually and collectively. That is how high level teams behave, and our expectations are to go out each day with a mindset to improve, stay present and be resilient when adversity comes our way."
"We've been talking about leaning into our strengths as we start the season and right now, we've identified serving and defense to be strengths of this roster. Fans can expect some aces, monster blocks and mega rallies as we get started!"
The Green and Gold will look to bounce back after a five win 2023 campaign. The 2024 schedule features home games against two SEC teams (Auburn & Mississippi State). The Alabama Showdown will be hosted by UAB this year and includes South Alabama, Auburn, and Samford. The Blazers will start conference play on September 27th in Bartow Arena against Tulsa.
UAB returns 12 players while adding four to the 2024 squad. The newcomers include Abby Jones, Meg Jarrett, Shay Henry, and Annastiina Tarkkanen. All four of these players will look to come in and make an impact right away. The only local product out of the bunch is Meg Jarrett who is from Madison, Alabama. Mia Reese (289) and Kelsey Smith (298) return with the top two kill amounts in 2023. Defensively, the Blazers return two of their top three dig totals for the year in Brooklyn Allison (186) and Asli Celikkol (226). Madison Page brings back a season high of 105 blocks.
FOLLOW THE BLAZERS
To keep up with UAB Volleyball, follow @UAB_VB on Instagram and Twitter.
2024-25 GOLD CARD
The 2024-25 Gold Card is on Sale. The 2024-25 Gold Card will get you access to all home events for Women's Soccer, Men's Soccer, Volleyball, Women's Basketball, Softball, and Baseball (Regions Field & Young Memorial). This card is not valid for AAC or NCAA Championship events.
Alabama State will travel 91 miles up Interstate 65 to get to Birmingham on Friday. The Hornets finished the 2023 campaign with an 18-13 record, winning one game in the conference tournament. The Hornets started off the season 1-12 before winning 16 straight games and going undefeated in conference play.
UAB will look to improve on their 7th place finish in the American Athletic Conference east division last year. The AAC has taken away the divisions and added a conference tournament to the 2024 volleyball season. UAB will officially start their season on August 30th against Alcorn State. The Blazers are led by 5th year Head Coach Betsy Freeburg, as well as Associate Head Coach Ryan Freeburg and Assistant Coach Ashley Veach.
"With each new season there is always great anticipation and excitement to get started," said Head Coach Betsy Freeburg. "This year we have a great combination of determined returners and eager freshmen, which has been a lot of fun to coach. This 2024 roster is position by position the deepest we have been in years, and the team is competing hard each day. They are holding both themselves and each other to a high level, even as they are growing individually and collectively. That is how high level teams behave, and our expectations are to go out each day with a mindset to improve, stay present and be resilient when adversity comes our way."
"We've been talking about leaning into our strengths as we start the season and right now, we've identified serving and defense to be strengths of this roster. Fans can expect some aces, monster blocks and mega rallies as we get started!"
The Green and Gold will look to bounce back after a five win 2023 campaign. The 2024 schedule features home games against two SEC teams (Auburn & Mississippi State). The Alabama Showdown will be hosted by UAB this year and includes South Alabama, Auburn, and Samford. The Blazers will start conference play on September 27th in Bartow Arena against Tulsa.
UAB returns 12 players while adding four to the 2024 squad. The newcomers include Abby Jones, Meg Jarrett, Shay Henry, and Annastiina Tarkkanen. All four of these players will look to come in and make an impact right away. The only local product out of the bunch is Meg Jarrett who is from Madison, Alabama. Mia Reese (289) and Kelsey Smith (298) return with the top two kill amounts in 2023. Defensively, the Blazers return two of their top three dig totals for the year in Brooklyn Allison (186) and Asli Celikkol (226). Madison Page brings back a season high of 105 blocks.
FOLLOW THE BLAZERS
To keep up with UAB Volleyball, follow @UAB_VB on Instagram and Twitter.
2024-25 GOLD CARD
The 2024-25 Gold Card is on Sale. The 2024-25 Gold Card will get you access to all home events for Women's Soccer, Men's Soccer, Volleyball, Women's Basketball, Softball, and Baseball (Regions Field & Young Memorial). This card is not valid for AAC or NCAA Championship events.
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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