The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Houston
Blazers Defeat Houston 3-1
10/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 24, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Behind career performances from senior outside hitter Martina Shields, sophomore outside hitter Breanne Swenson and freshman setter Bilun Gunal, UAB (11-13, 4-3 Conference USA) defeated Houston 3-1 in Conference USA volleyball action Friday evening at Bartow Arena.
Shields recorded her 10th double-double of the season and in the process set career highs for kills and points with 28. In addition, Shields hit for a season-high .423 and posted 10 digs in helping lead the Blazers to their first ever win over Houston. Swenson also recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 19 kills and a career-high 22 digs to go along with 21.5 points. Gunal posted her second double-double of the season and had a career-high 63 assists to go along with 14 digs and a .333 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside/right side hitter Lindsay Carnohan added her third double-double of the year with 10 kills and 12 digs to go along with 14 points, four total blocks and two service aces for UAB. Senior middle blocker Karen Boyd had 13 points on 11 kills and three total blocks for the Blazers.
"That's the first time we've ever beaten Houston," said UAB head coach Melinda Claiborne. "I think our girls had a great week of practice. They have really worked hard. Tonight's win shows a lot of maturity and a lot of mental strength. Martina (Shields) was unstoppable tonight. That really helped. It was really good to see Breanne Swenson play a good match. That really helped a lot."
Houston (6-14, 2-4 C-USA) took a 5-4 lead in game one and although UAB kept it close, the Cougars never relinquished the lead, winning 30-26.
Game two was a back-and-forth battle that saw the score tied 13 times and had eight total lead changes. With the score tied at 24, UAB was able to gain the upper hand and hold on for a 30-26 win. The Blazers out-hit the Cougars .325 - .128 in the game, led by Carnohan who hit for .625 with five kills on eight attempts.
After the score was knotted at six in game three, UAB used a .450 hitting percentage, led by Shields, who hit for .800 with eight kills on 10 attempts, and Swenson, who had seven kills on nine attempts for a .667 percentage, to cruise to a 30-24 win.
Houston led most of the way in game four, but UAB battled back to tie the score at 20. The lead would change hands three times down the stretch, but with the score tied at 25, UAB pulled ahead for good en route to a 30-26 victory. The Blazers were again led by Shields in the game as she turned in 10 kills on 16 attempts and hit for .562.
The Cougars were led by junior middle hitter Loure Dews who had 24.5 points on 20 kills, six total blocks and a .474 hitting percentage. Junior setter Mirela Vasconcellos and freshman setter Lauren Grover posted 33 assists and 21 assists respectively for Houston.
UAB returns to Bartow Arena Saturday to face C-USA rival TCU (16-8, 2-4 C-USA) at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults, $2 for children ages 3-12, children 2 and under are admitted free and UAB students are admitted free with a valid student ID.
