The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Memphis
Serley Leads Blazers To Comeback Win In C-USA Opener
9/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2009
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Freshman middle blocker Sam Serley managed a career-high 19 kills Thursday night, and the UAB volleyball team overcame a two-set deficit at Memphis to post a 3-2 (22-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-10) victory in its Conference USA opener.
Serley, a product of Thompson's Station, Tenn., hit for a .452 percentage as she helped the Blazers improve to 6-5 overall (1-0 C-USA), while Memphis dropped to 2-9 overall (0-1 C-USA). Serley's former club teammate and fellow Nashville-area product Alison Woods recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 47 assists and 12 digs.
"Sam is already a very good player in this league, and she was great for us tonight," UAB head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "The thing about Sam and Alison is that they have been playing together for so long. They play so well together, and that really helps our team."
UAB will remain in Memphis the next two days to play in the Tiger Invitational. The Blazers return to the court Friday at 4:30 p.m. against UALR and will play twice on Saturday, facing New Orleans at 10 a.m. and Samford at 4:30 p.m. Follow the action through Gametracker at uabsports.com and the Tiger Invitational Homepage at the official site of Memphis athletics.
In Thursday's victory, UAB managed to come from behind despite being out-hit, .211 to .165, and out-dug, 84-68.
Three Memphis players finished with double-digit kill totals, led by Altrese Hawkins with 14. Tiger setter Christine Bach handed out 51 assists, while Becky Shaffer and Lauren Thompson each reached the 20-dig mark with 27 and 20, respectively.
The Blazer middles were a major key to Thursday's win. In addition to Serley's performance, fellow middle blocker Michelle Uzoh hit for a .545 percentage while posting a match-best six blocks in just three sets of work.
"Memphis was keying on the outside, so we just started going to the middle and the right," Messersmith said. "Michelle came in the third set and gave us a spark both offensively and defensively. We also made an adjustment in moving Andrea (Lalic) to the right side, and she came up with some key swings for us."
The third-set adjustments led to the Blazers' best offensive frame of the night. UAB tallied a .289 hitting percentage in the set as Lalic, Uzoh and Jordan McDonald each notched four kills. The teams went back and forth with both sides owning leads of at least four points. With the score tied 21-21, UAB rallied off the next four points to close the set with one kill from Savannah Pegg, two from McDonald, and a Memphis error.
After taking the fourth set to even the match, UAB never trailed in the decisive fifth frame. The Blazers jumped out to a 7-3 advantage, and, although Memphis cut the lead to one at 7-6, UAB did not surrender its edge. Holding onto a two-point advantage at 12-10, the Blazers earned a match point after a Lalic kill and a solo block from Uzoh. The pair then combined on one final block to finish the contest.
"We went out flat tonight, but we really challenged our kids in the locker room after the second set," Messersmith said. "We had been competitive in practice all week, and we came out with that same heart and competitive spirit starting in the third set.
"Part of the reason we struggled early was because Memphis just played lights out," Messersmith said. "They have some great athletes on that team, and they will be a team to be reckoned with in our conference."
Lalic finished as the second UAB player in double-figure kills with 12, while Savannah Pegg and Jordan McDonald added seven each. Libero Heather Thomas led UAB defensively with 26 digs, falling two short of a career-high.
Lalic also added five blocks as UAB out-blocked its ninth opponent in 11 matches this season. The Blazers finished with nine blocks to eight for Memphis.
