The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Cincinnati
Blazers Fall To Cincinnati, 3-0
11/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 28, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Andrea Lalic finished with 13 kills Friday night, and Savannah Pegg added 11, but the UAB volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-18) decision to Big East foe Cincinnati at Bartow Arena.
The Blazers couldn't recover from a slow start and dropped to 25-7 on the season, while Cincinnati improved to 26-6.
"We just came out very flat tonight and didn't match their intensity," UAB head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "Cincinnati is a really strong team, and they outplayed us the whole match."
The Bearcats broke open a 13-13 tie in the first set with three straight points and never trailed again in the opening frame. Cincinnati wound up scoring 12 of the final 15 points in the set to grab a 1-0 lead.
UAB looked to turn things around in the second set as it held a lead throughout much of the frame. A kill from Pegg matched the Blazers' largest lead at 19-15, but Cincinnati roared back to tie the score at 20-20 on an ace from Kelsey Brandl. The teams found themselves tied three more times, including at 23-23, before a kill and an ace from Cincinnati's Jessie Nevitt ended the set and gave the Bearcats a 2-0 advantage headed to the intermission.
In the third set, UAB scored two of the first three points to take an early lead, but Cincinnati tied the score at 2-2 on a Blazer error, and UAB would never lead again. The Bearcats gradually opened up an advantage throughout the set, building a seven-point lead on three occasions, including the final score of 25-18.
Aleksandra Vujovic led all players in the match with 22 digs, and Ivana Bozic added 13. Nevena Stefanov led UAB in assists with 31.
For Cincinnati, Jessica Elley and Stephanie Niemer finished in double-figure kills with 14 and 12, respectively. Annie Fesl handed out 39 assists for the Bearcats, and Jaime Frey posted a team-best 14 digs.
UAB returns to action Saturday at Bartow Arena. The Blazers will host Florida A&M in their final regular-season match with first serve set for 3 p.m. CT.
