The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Hosts League-Leading Marshall Friday, East Carolina Sunday
11/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 8, 2007
Match Notes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - With the Conference USA Tournament just one week away, the UAB volleyball team looks to clinch a top-four seed when it hosts Marshall and East Carolina this weekend. The Blazers will play Marshall on Friday at 7:00 p.m. before playing their final home match of the season against East Carolina Sunday at 1:00 p.m. UAB beat both the Thundering Herd and Pirates earlier this season.
Both matches this weekend will be streamed live on All-Access at UABsports.com., while Gametracker will also be available for both contests. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for youth.
UAB (21-7, 11-3 C-USA) enters the weekend in third place in the C-USA standings. The top-four seeds in the Conference USA Tournament to be held Nov. 15-18 will earn first round byes. Marshall is the host for this year's tournament.
Marshall (20-8, 13-1 C-USA) leads the league having only lost to UAB in league play this season, while Tulane (25-5, 13-2 C-USA) is in second.
Other teams looking to solidify first round byes this weekend will be Tulsa (23-7, 10-4 C-USA) and Memphis (21-10, 10-4 C-USA), which are locked in a tie for fourth place with Tulsa holding the tiebreaker after beating the Tigers last weekend.
UAB holds the tiebreaker against Tulsa. However, in the case that UAB and Memphis end up deadlocked, a coin flip will determine the higher seed since all tiebreak scenarios (overall C-USA record, head-to-head record, games won/lost head-to-head, point differential head-to-head) between the two teams are tied.
Friday's showdown with league-leading Marshall will feature the past two Conference USA Tournament champions with Marshall winning in 2005 before the Blazers won the crown in 2006.
UAB defeated the Thundering Herd back on Oct. 12 in Huntington, W. Va., holding on for a 3-2 (30-27, 30-28, 26-30, 26-30, 15-13) victory. Senior Fernanda Domingos led the Blazers in that match with 16 kills and four blocks.
The Blazers are coming off a near-flawless weekend that was highlighted by junior Aleksandra Vujovic who averaged 5.50 kills and 4.83 digs per game in the team's two matches to earn her Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Senior Brianna Galvin moved up to second place all-time at UAB in career digs last weekend and now needs 93 more to become the school's all-time leader.
Marshall leads the all-time series with UAB, 3-2, after the Blazers won the last two meetings. The last three meetings between the two teams have come down to a decisive fifth game with UAB winning the last two matches 15-13 in the fifth game.
Marshall is led this season by All-American Kelly-Anne Billingy who is averaging 5.08 kills per game, while Stephanie Cahill has also been strong offensively, holding a 3.44 kills per game average.
Elizabeth Fleming runs the Thundering Herd offense and is leading Conference USA in assists per game at 12.99.
East Carolina enters this weekend with a record of 15-14 overall and 6-8 in Conference USA play. The Pirates are currently on a three-match winning streak after beating Rice, UCF and Southern Miss.
The Pirates are led this season by Kelley Wernert who is averaging 5.09 kills and 2.54 digs per game. ECU will have a slightly different look from when the Blazers beat the Pirates, 3-1, in Greenville, N.C. earlier this season as Mignon Dubenion, who had eight kills and seven blocks against the Blazers in that match, is no longer with the team.
Katie Koop runs the ECU offense and is averaging 11.86 assists per game, while Trish Monroe is the backbone of the Pirate defense and is averaging 4.17 digs per game.
UAB leads the all-time series with East Carolina, 6-5, after winning each of the two previous meetings.
