The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Volleyball Closes Out Homestand Against Middle Tennessee
10/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 15, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The UAB volleyball team will look to continue on its winning ways by hosting Middle Tennessee on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT inside Bartow Arena. The match will close out a five-game homestand for the Blazers.
UAB (12-11) || Middle Tennessee (7-17)
UAB Scouting Report
The Blazers are coming off an impressive week, in which they went 3-0 and have won five consecutive matches, including four against Conference USA squads.
During the current win streak, UAB has put up some impressive numbers against its competition. The Blazers are out-hitting opponents by 100 percentage points (.240 to .140), nearly doubling up opponents in aces (30 to 16) and out-blocking teams 54 to 32.
Offensively, five players are averaging two-plus kills per set, led by redshirt freshman Sam Skinner, who has put away 54 kills in 18 frames (3.00kps) over the course of the last five games.
For the overall season, UAB is hitting .209, as individually Sam Serley has posted a league-best .379 hitting clip. Serley has connected at even a higher rate during the current win streak, putting away .390 percent of her attacks. Kirsten Gallagher has also been extremely effective, hitting .357 during the five-match stretch and has committed only eight errors in 115 attempts.
The Blazers have been serving more effectively as well, as three players have laced 5-plus aces during the last five matches. Ally Slaughter leads the team during the win streak, connecting for 10 aces in 13 sets of action (0.77aps).
Record Watch
Senior Sam Serley inched her way closer this past weekend and is in striking distance of reaching 500 career blocks. The middle blocker is just three swats away from becoming just the third player in UAB history to reach 500 career rejections.
Furthermore, Serley would become just the ninth player in C-USA history to reach 500 blocks and just the second in school history to reach both 1,000 kills and 500 blocks in a career.
Early Season Rewind
The Blazers and Blue Raiders met back during the season’s opening weekend on Aug. 24, when the two teams met at the Blue Raider Bash. UAB fell victim to a 3-0 sweep to MTSU in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Sam Serley was the bright spot in the loss, hitting .471 for the match, putting away eight kills on 17 attacks.
Middle Tennessee Scouting Report
The Blue Raiders are also coming off an effective weekend, claiming a pair of Atlantic Sun contests. MTSU defeated Florida Atlantic in four sets before sweeping FIU, with both wins coming at home.
Chelsea Ross and Bri McCombs captured the Sun Belt Conference’s Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week awards for their individual efforts.
For the season, Ross is averaging 4.00 kills per set and put away a career-high 29 last week in five-set loss to Austin Peay. She is also averaging 2.40 digs per set and tops the Blue Raiders in aces with 18.
McCombs garnered the top defender honor by averaging 4.17 digs per set as she posted double-digit digs in all three matches for MTSU last week.
