The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Volleyball Weekend Takes Blazers From Orlando To El Paso
10/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB volleyball team faces a tough challenge this weekend with road tests on opposite ends of the Conference USA map.
The Blazers will first travel to Orlando, Fla., in the Eastern time zone for a 7 p.m. match Friday at UCF. The team will then board a flight to El Paso, Texas, in the Mountain time zone for a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday.
UAB has had more than a measure of success against UCF and UTEP recently, having not lost to either team since 2005. The Blazers have won nine matches in a row against the Knights and four straight against the Miners.
UAB (5-15, 2-6 C-USA) is coming off mixed results last weekend at home. The Blazers played one of their best matches of the season last Friday in a 3-2 win over Rice, which entered the contest in second place in the conference standings. UAB then closed the weekend Sunday with a 3-0 loss to Houston.
Blocking has been a key area of improvement for the Blazers of late. After posting 1.54 blocks per set through its first 14 matches, UAB has averaged 2.35 blocks per frame over its past six contests. The Blazers have reached double-digit blocks three times during that stretch, including a season-high 17 last Friday against Rice.
Middle blocker Sam Serley leads UAB in blocks per set at 0.86 and also tops the team in in kills per set (2.81) and attack percentage (.312). Libero Heather Thomas continues to rank second in the league in digs per set and checks in at No. 20 nationally this week at 5.37.
UCF (10-10, 3-5 C-USA) has had a roller-coaster season to this point. The Knights opened with seven straight wins before losing nine in a row. They have currently won three of their past four. UTEP (12-9, 4-4 C-USA), which opens its weekend Friday against Memphis, has recorded all four of its league wins over two teams -- East Carolina and Marshall. The Miners lost last weekend at Tulane and Southern Miss.
