Nov. 16, 2008

Final Stats

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Andrea Lalic posted 10 kills Sunday as the UAB volleyball team closed its regular season conference schedule with a 3-0 (25-23, 28-26, 25-23) victory on the road at Memphis.

With the win, UAB improved to 23-5 overall and 13-3 in conference play. The Blazers, who had already secured a first-round bye, locked up the No. 2 seed in this week's Conference USA Tournament, which will also be held in Memphis. UAB will play Friday in the quarterfinals.

In Sunday's match, UAB managed to take three straight close sets from the Tigers. The Blazers led throughout much of the first and third sets, but the second set saw UAB overcome a late five-point deficit.

Trailing 23-18 in the second, UAB tallied six of the next seven points and tied the score at 24-24 on an ace from Ivana Bozic. Each team then fought off a set point as the score moved to 26-26 before a kill from Casey Dent and a block by Dent and Nevena Stefanov gave the Blazers the set.

"That was probably the most exciting part of the match," UAB head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "The girls really fought back hard. We hadn't shown a lot of fight in the past couple weeks, so that was good to see."

Instead of Memphis evening the match, the Blazers took a two-set advantage into the intermission. UAB carried that momentum into the third set, building a 20-15 lead and then holding on for the win.

Jordan McDonald added seven kills for the Blazers, while Stefanov handed out 26 assists. Aleksandra Vujovic notched a team-best nine digs, followed by Bozic and Heather Thomas with seven each.

Rebekah Strickland led Memphis with 15 kills, and Laura Cote dished out 38 assists for the Tigers. Christine Bach managed 13 digs.

UAB pulled out the victory despite being out-hit by Memphis, .193 to .161. The Blazers were able to avenge a Sept. 18 loss to the Tigers in Birmingham.

"We're not really happy with the way we played today, but a win is a win," Messersmith said. "We're happy to get the win, and now we'll set our sights on the tournament this weekend, where we are going to have a very tough road."