The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers To Travel Wednesday As NCAA Tourney Nears
12/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 2, 2008
2008 NCAA Volleyball Championship Bracket
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB volleyball team held its final practice in Birmingham Tuesday afternoon and will travel to Nebraska Wednesday as its NCAA Championship opening-round match nears.
UAB worked out on campus for about two hours as it prepares for a first-round match with Missouri State. The Blazers and Bears will meet Friday at 4:30 p.m. CT at the NU Coliseum on the campus of the University of Nebraska.
"The girls are just really excited and ready to go," UAB head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "We had a short, intense practice today, and I was pleased with how things went. Our girls can't wait to take the court for Friday's match."
UAB will meet Missouri State Friday for the first time ever in volleyball. Should the Blazers win, they would advance to the second round to play Saturday against the winner of Friday's second match, which features Liberty against host and No. 4 overall seed Nebraska. A meeting with either of those teams would also be the first in program history.
As they make their second NCAA Championship appearance in three years, the Blazers are also looking forward to playing in one of the premier volleyball venues in the country. Nebraska has sold out 118 consecutive matches at the 4,030-seat NU Coliseum, and the all-session tickets for this week's first and second rounds are sold out, as well.
UAB will fly into Omaha, Neb., Wednesday and practice there before driving to Lincoln, Neb. The Blazers then have a practice session scheduled at the Coliseum on Thursday before Friday's match.
Fans can follow the action Friday through live stats on www.huskers.com or www.ncaasports.com. If UAB advances to Saturday and Nebraska advances, that match would be televised in Nebraska by Nebraska Educational Television, and the feed would be available through live streaming video on www.huskers.com.
