The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Thursday, September 18
Birmingham, Ala.
3:30 p.m.
UAB
vs
Auburn
Blazers End Non-Conference at Alabama Showdown
9/17/2025 6:27:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB Volleyball will close out the 2025 non-conference schedule just down the road at Samford for the Alabama Showdown. The three-day tournament will see the Blazers take on Auburn, South Alabama, and hosts Samford starting Thursday, September 18, running through Saturday, September 20. The Blazers' first two matches of the weekend are set for 3:30 p.m., first serves, while the tournament finale against the Bulldogs will be at 6:30 p.m.
FOLLOW LIVE
Thursday, September 18, 3:30 p.m. - vs Auburn | Live Stats
Friday, September 19, 3:30 p.m. - vs South Alabama | Live Stats
Saturday, September 20, 6:30 p.m. - at Samford | Watch | Live Stats
KEEPING OPTIONS OPEN
The Blazers showed their depth in Evansville, going two-deep at almost every position throughout the weekend. Jorda Crook and Mia Reese kept their positions as staples in the rotation at the pins. Other pins, Abby Jones and Kennedy Vaughn, continued to switch off in the 6-2 system.
Riley Lovell led the Blazers in assists in all three matches, the first time she's led UAB after Annastiina Tarkkanen did the same last weekend. Tarkkanen got the start at setter in all three matches, despite Lovell registering more sets.
Finally, Meg Jarrett rose as the second libero over the weekend, suiting up in the final five sets of the weekend as the primary libero after Delaney Bowser led the Blazers in digs against Evansville.
LAST TIME OUT
UAB won two of three in Evansville last weekend, playing like two completely different teams throughout the weekend. In set victories, the Blazers hit .333, winning by an average of 7.83 points; however, UAB hit .201 when losing sets by an average of 3.33 points.
In the weekend opener, UAB defeated Evansville, 3-2, after going up with two dominant sets, before the Purple Aces clawed back to force a fifth that UAB would go on to win. Crook recorded her third 20-kill match of the year with her 21 kills, hitting .405. The Blazers hit .331 as a team. Lovell emerged as the Blazers' top setter from the weekend with her career-high 25 assists.
Despite Morehead State's 3-0 win, the Blazers were competitive in their second match on Friday, losing each set by 2.67 points on average to the Eagles. The Blazers totaled 14 blocks, the most by UAB in a three-set match since 10/20/19 vs FIU. The Blazers' block leader, Snead, set a career-high with six blocks. Vaughn set a career-high with seven kills.
UAB ended the weekend on a 3-1 win over Western Illinois after dropping the first set. Crook led the Blazers for the third time with 15 kills while also recording a career-high five aces, as did Tarkkanen. Using Jarrett as the primary libero, three different Blazers recorded double-digit digs.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
Auburn Volleyball enters the weekend 6-2 with key wins over Virginia and Florida State. The win over the Seminoles was the front-end of a home-and-home against Florida State, where Auburn lost the back-end, 3-1. Auburn opened the season with a 3-0 loss to Louisville, but responded with a win over their only common opponent with UAB, Morehead State, 3-0.
The Tigers' blocking has been spectacular, currently second in the SEC and fourth in the nation. Kate Mansfield is the primary contributor for such, averaging 1.58 blocks per set, 10th best in the country.
South Alabama is 4-4 entering the Alabama Showdown. Half of the Jaguars' losses came during the opening weekend in Baton Rouge, where South Alabama managed a set off of #20 Baylor before losing 3-1, then lost to hosts LSU, 3-0. South Alabama's other two losses came at the hands of power-conference opponents, Iowa State and Mississippi State. South Alabama's wins have come over Central Michigan, Milwaukee, Southeastern Louisiana, and Tulane.
Hosts Samford are also 4-4 this season, taking losses to giants Georgia and Tennessee, but also to North Alabama and Wichita State. Additionally, three of the Bulldogs' four wins have been in five sets, with their only sweep coming over Radford.
The Bulldogs and Blazers have two common opponents to date, North Alabama and Tennessee Tech. The Blazers defeated both teams, 3-2 and 3-0, respectively. The Bulldogs fell in straight sets to North Alabama while narrowly defeating the Golden Eagles, 3-2.
SERIES HISTORY
The Blazers look to snap their long losing streak against Auburn. UAB has dropped the last 14 against the Tigers, last winning in November 1992. Auburn leads the all-time series 24-8, including a 2-0 record in neutral-site matches.
UAB holds a 24-12 lead all-time against South Alabama, but has fallen in the last two matchups. Despite holding a 12-match lead in the all-time series, UAB has not won in the series since 2003. The Blazers are 9-4 against the Jaguars in neutral matches.
Finally, UAB leads all-time 26-7 against Samford, beating the Bulldogs in 10 of 14 matches at Samford. The Bulldogs have won the last five matchups between the two teams, but have not swept the Blazers since 2001.
FOLLOW LIVE
Thursday, September 18, 3:30 p.m. - vs Auburn | Live Stats
Friday, September 19, 3:30 p.m. - vs South Alabama | Live Stats
Saturday, September 20, 6:30 p.m. - at Samford | Watch | Live Stats
KEEPING OPTIONS OPEN
The Blazers showed their depth in Evansville, going two-deep at almost every position throughout the weekend. Jorda Crook and Mia Reese kept their positions as staples in the rotation at the pins. Other pins, Abby Jones and Kennedy Vaughn, continued to switch off in the 6-2 system.
Riley Lovell led the Blazers in assists in all three matches, the first time she's led UAB after Annastiina Tarkkanen did the same last weekend. Tarkkanen got the start at setter in all three matches, despite Lovell registering more sets.
Finally, Meg Jarrett rose as the second libero over the weekend, suiting up in the final five sets of the weekend as the primary libero after Delaney Bowser led the Blazers in digs against Evansville.
LAST TIME OUT
UAB won two of three in Evansville last weekend, playing like two completely different teams throughout the weekend. In set victories, the Blazers hit .333, winning by an average of 7.83 points; however, UAB hit .201 when losing sets by an average of 3.33 points.
In the weekend opener, UAB defeated Evansville, 3-2, after going up with two dominant sets, before the Purple Aces clawed back to force a fifth that UAB would go on to win. Crook recorded her third 20-kill match of the year with her 21 kills, hitting .405. The Blazers hit .331 as a team. Lovell emerged as the Blazers' top setter from the weekend with her career-high 25 assists.
Despite Morehead State's 3-0 win, the Blazers were competitive in their second match on Friday, losing each set by 2.67 points on average to the Eagles. The Blazers totaled 14 blocks, the most by UAB in a three-set match since 10/20/19 vs FIU. The Blazers' block leader, Snead, set a career-high with six blocks. Vaughn set a career-high with seven kills.
UAB ended the weekend on a 3-1 win over Western Illinois after dropping the first set. Crook led the Blazers for the third time with 15 kills while also recording a career-high five aces, as did Tarkkanen. Using Jarrett as the primary libero, three different Blazers recorded double-digit digs.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
Auburn Volleyball enters the weekend 6-2 with key wins over Virginia and Florida State. The win over the Seminoles was the front-end of a home-and-home against Florida State, where Auburn lost the back-end, 3-1. Auburn opened the season with a 3-0 loss to Louisville, but responded with a win over their only common opponent with UAB, Morehead State, 3-0.
The Tigers' blocking has been spectacular, currently second in the SEC and fourth in the nation. Kate Mansfield is the primary contributor for such, averaging 1.58 blocks per set, 10th best in the country.
South Alabama is 4-4 entering the Alabama Showdown. Half of the Jaguars' losses came during the opening weekend in Baton Rouge, where South Alabama managed a set off of #20 Baylor before losing 3-1, then lost to hosts LSU, 3-0. South Alabama's other two losses came at the hands of power-conference opponents, Iowa State and Mississippi State. South Alabama's wins have come over Central Michigan, Milwaukee, Southeastern Louisiana, and Tulane.
Hosts Samford are also 4-4 this season, taking losses to giants Georgia and Tennessee, but also to North Alabama and Wichita State. Additionally, three of the Bulldogs' four wins have been in five sets, with their only sweep coming over Radford.
The Bulldogs and Blazers have two common opponents to date, North Alabama and Tennessee Tech. The Blazers defeated both teams, 3-2 and 3-0, respectively. The Bulldogs fell in straight sets to North Alabama while narrowly defeating the Golden Eagles, 3-2.
SERIES HISTORY
The Blazers look to snap their long losing streak against Auburn. UAB has dropped the last 14 against the Tigers, last winning in November 1992. Auburn leads the all-time series 24-8, including a 2-0 record in neutral-site matches.
UAB holds a 24-12 lead all-time against South Alabama, but has fallen in the last two matchups. Despite holding a 12-match lead in the all-time series, UAB has not won in the series since 2003. The Blazers are 9-4 against the Jaguars in neutral matches.
Finally, UAB leads all-time 26-7 against Samford, beating the Bulldogs in 10 of 14 matches at Samford. The Bulldogs have won the last five matchups between the two teams, but have not swept the Blazers since 2001.
Players Mentioned
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