The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Volleyball to Play UCLA in First-Ever NCAA Championship Appearance
11/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 26, 2006
2006 NCAA Division I Championship Bracket
Download Free Acrobat Reader
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB volleyball team will travel to play fourth-seeded UCLA at 8 p.m. PT in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship on Friday as announced live on ESPNEWS Sunday afternoon. The Blazers earned an automatic bid into the tournament after winning the school's first-ever Conference USA championship to mark the first time in school history the team will compete in the NCAA Championship.
Also at the UCLA region will be Utah and Michigan State who will square off in the first match at 5:30 p.m. PT with the winners of the two matches to play on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT.
UAB is riding one of the longest win streaks in the country into the tournament having won 13-straight matches dating back to Oct. 18.
UAB head coach Kerry Messersmith has masterminded the turnaround at UAB in 2006, leading the Blazers to 27 wins, marking the highest win total for the program since 1991 when the team had 33 triumphs.
"This is an exciting day for these girls and for this program," Messersmith said following Sunday's selection show on ESPNEWS. "It's nice to know where we are going and who we will play so that we can go on preparing for the national tournament. UCLA is obviously an extremely talented team and presents a great challenge but I really believe that this team is up for the challenge and we're going to practice hard all week to get ourselves ready to play."
UCLA will be the second Pac-10 school the Blazers have ever faced. In 1993, UAB lost to Arizona at the New Mexico Tournament, 3-0.
Sophomore outside hitter Ivana Bozic has been a key factor in the Blazers' success this season as she averages 4.92 kills per game to go with a 2.82 digs per game average on the defensive end. Bozic was recently named to the All-Conference USA First Team and was named the C-USA Tournament MVP.
Junior Brianna Galvin has shined as well, setting the school record for single-season digs with 580 in addition to setting the Conference USA Tournament record for digs with 83.
