The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Troy
UAB Wraps Up Invitational With Win Over Troy
9/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 20, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB volleyball team wrapped up another solid weekend Saturday with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-22) sweep of in-state foe Troy.
The victory gave the Blazers a 3-0 record this weekend as co-host of the UAB/Samford Invitational. UAB has now won nine of its past 10 matches, including perfect 3-0 marks each of the past three weekends.
In the Troy match, Ivana Bozic led the Blazers with 11 kills, and setter Nevena Stefanov collected 11 assists. Casey Dent, who was a strong force all weekend for UAB, posted nine kills to go along with a .333 hitting percentage.
"We knew Troy would be a tough opponent," UAB head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "(Troy coach) Sonny Kirkpatrick runs a good program, so we're glad to get the win and finish off another good weekend."
In the opening set, UAB trailed briefly to open the match, but the Blazers took the lead at 5-4 on a Troy attack error and never fell behind again. The Blazers matched their largest lead on the final point to earn a 25-19 set one victory.
In the second set, UAB had to play from behind. Troy jumped out to a 15-9 lead before the Blazers rattled off five straight points and cut the Trojan lead to 16-14 on a Jordan McDonald kill. UAB continued to chip away and took its first lead of the set at 18-17 on a Troy attack error. Then, with the score tied 23-23, UAB scored two straight points and finished off the set on a Bozic kill.
The third set was another close one that UAB managed to pull out. The Blazers led 23-22 and again scored the final two points on a Troy service error and McDonald's seventh and final kill of the match.
With the win, UAB improves to 9-3 on the season, while Troy falls to 9-6. The Blazers return to Conference USA action Friday with a 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) match at East Carolina.
