The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Rice
Blazers Beat Rice, Roll Into Conference Championship Match
11/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 22, 2008
C-USA Volleyball Championship Central
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The UAB volleyball team was on the brink of falling behind two sets to one in Saturday's Conference USA Championship semifinal match with Rice.
With the contest even at a set apiece, the No. 2 seed Blazers trailed 17-9 in the third frame before putting together one of their most dominant stretches of the season. UAB rallied for 23 of the next 26 points to claim the third set and grab an early lead in the fourth on its way to a 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19) win at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse in Memphis.
"We're certainly excited about the outcome," UAB head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "We really felt that we had several players come through and have big games for us, especially Lilly Domingos, offensively. When she is on, we're usually on, and she had a great offensive night and a great blocking night."
With the victory, UAB advances to the championship match to face top-seeded Tulane, which survived a five-set battle against Houston in Saturday's first semifinal. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. CT in a match that will be televised live by CBS College Sports.
UAB (25-5) is the only Conference USA team to defeat Tulane this season. The Blazers earned a 3-2 win over the Green Wave in Birmingham on Oct. 5 in a match that was also televised by CBS College Sports.
The Blazers will be playing in their third league tournament championship match in as many years. UAB won the 2006 title and finished as the runner-up in 2007.
"We're excited to be here for the third year in a row," Messersmith said. "Obviously, we hope that it can turn out a little bit differently than it did last year. Tulane is a great team, and we're excited to mix it up with them tomorrow."
After taking an early lead in the fourth set Saturday against No. 3 seed Rice, UAB still had a little work left. The Blazers led by as many as six points at 10-4 before Rice (22-7) went on a run to even the score at 14-14. But the Blazers called a timeout, then tallied six straight points and rolled to a 25-19 win. Ivana Bozic's 12th kill of the match sealed a spot for UAB in Sunday's final.
Offensively, Domingos dominated the middle for the Blazers. The senior posted a match-high 15 kills and led all players with a .467 hitting percentage. Andrea Lalic added 13 kills, and Casey Dent was the fourth Blazer in double-digits with 11.
Lalic came alive during UAB's run in the third set. She posted three aces and two kills in a seven-point span as the Blazers turned things around.
Nevena Stefanov finished with 52 assists for UAB, and the senior setter also tallied a career-high 23 digs to lead the team and post her eighth double-double. Bozic also managed a double-double, her 17th of the year, adding 20 digs to her 12 kills. Heather Thomas finished with a career-high 19 digs.
The teams split the opening two sets, with Rice taking the first and UAB winning the second.
UAB trailed by seven twice in the first set, including midway through the frame at 15-8. From there, the Blazers rattled off four straight points, including two kills from Domingos, to cut the deficit to 15-11 and force a Rice timeout. UAB continued to hang around and pulled within three at 21-18 when Domingos and Stefanov combined on a block. But Rice closed the set with four of the next seven points, and a kill from Karyn Morgan gave the Owls a 25-21 win.
The second set was nip and tuck in the early going with neither side able to gain an advantage larger than two points. That all changed when UAB strung together seven straight points to transform a 14-12 deficit into a 19-14 lead. A pair of Stefanov aces and three Domingos blocks keyed the Blazer run. Rice would cut the lead to one at 21-20 on a Blazer service error, but UAB responded with four of the next six points and closed the frame at 25-22 on a Dent kill.
For the match, Morgan led Rice with 13 kills, and Ashleigh McCord added 10. Meredith Schamun handed out 42 assists for the Owls, while Tracey Lam led Rice defensively with 22 digs.
