The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB On The Road This Weekend At Marshall, East Carolina
11/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 6, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- With the 2009 regular season winding down, the UAB volleyball team heads East for its final road weekend in conference play.
The Blazers will travel to Huntington, W. Va., to face Marshall on Friday at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) and then move on to Greenville, N.C., to meet East Carolina on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT).
UAB (14-14, 6-6 C-USA) and Marshall (19-7, 7-5 C-USA) have locked up spots in the 2009 Conference USA tournament and are now playing for positioning. The Blazers enter the weekend seventh in the league standings, one spot behind the Thundering Herd. East Carolina (9-16, 2-11 C-USA) has been eliminated from contention for a tournament spot.
The Blazers were scheduled to meet Marshall earlier this season on Oct. 9, but the match was postponed because several Thundering Herd players were exhibiting flu-like symptoms. That contest has been rescheduled for Nov. 12, meaning the teams will meet twice in a six-day period.
UAB and East Carolina met on Oct. 11 with the Blazers earning a 3-0 sweep in Birmingham. Andrea Lalic had 15 kills in the match as UAB hit for a season-best .348 percentage.
UAB enters the weekend with wins in three of its past four matches and coming off a 3-1 win Tuesday in a midweek road contest at Troy. Jordan McDonald recorded her fourth straight double-double in the victory over the Trojans with 12 kills and 15 digs.
The Blazer lineup also features reigning Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week Patty Paniagua, who averages 1.06 blocks per set to rank fifth in the league. Teammate Michelle Uzoh leads the Blazers and ranks first in the conference with 1.22 blocks per frame.
Marshall dropped a pair of league matches on the road last weekend against Houston and Rice. Emily Sullivan leads the Thundering Herd offensively with 3.42 kills per set, while Ryanne Milligan paces the squad with 3.81 digs per frame.
East Carolina is also coming off losses last weekend at Rice and Houston. Stephanie Turner tops the Pirate attackers with a 2.54 kills-per-set average, and Amanda Lutzow owns a team-best 2.41 digs-per-frame average.
UAB leads in the all-time series against both programs, holding a 5-4 edge over Marshall, including three wins last season, and a 10-5 advantage over East Carolina.
As always, fans can follow this weekend's action through Gametracker at uabsports.com.
