The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
UCF
Blazers Fall In UCF Comeback, 3-1
11/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 9, 2012
ORLANDO, Fla. ---- The UAB volleyball team won the first set at UCF, but the Knights rallied to claim the next three stanzas to defeat the Blazers, 3-1 (25-22, 18-25, 21-25, 20-25) on Friday night at The Venue.
The loss drops UAB to 18-13 overall and 10-5 in league play, while UCF improves to 13-14 and 9-5 in Conference USA.
The Blazers return to the court on Sunday, with a 1 p.m. CT first serve in Hattiesburg, Miss., against Southern Miss.
The defense of UAB was on point in the first set, recording seven blocks as a club and holding the UCF attack to a .140 hitting percentage. Individually, Sam Serley collected six swats of her own in the first frame, featuring three solo stuffs.
In the first set, the Blazers used a balanced attack, hitting .286 as five players recorded two or more kills to win the set, 25-22.
However, the tides turned in favor of the host Knights over the next three frames as the UAB defense was unable to slow down the swings of DeLaina Sarden and Evija Vilde. The UCF duo combined for 35 kills to help spring the Knights in claiming the next three sets. Sarden was almost perfect on the night, putting down 17 kills on 20 swings with no errors for .850 hitting clip.
Rachel Fairbanks corralled 21 digs for the Blazers in the loss, while Alison Woods chipped in her 14th double-double of the season (34 assists, 10 digs).
Offensively, Kirsten Gallagher had a solid night at the net, collecting 10 kills on a .350 attacking clip.
Sunday's contest at Southern Miss will round out the regular season for the Blazers. Following the match with the Golden Eagles, UAB will await its seed in the C-USA Tournament, hosted by Tulsa, from Nov. 16-18.
