Volleyball Wins In Five, 3-2, Over Wyoming

Saturday, September 14

Bloomington, Ind.

9:00 AM

UAB

Wyoming

Volleyball Wins In Five, 3-2, Over Wyoming

9/14/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Sept. 14, 2013

Final Stats | Final Stats

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ----- The UAB volleyball team (9-2) won in five sets over Wyoming (6-2) on Saturday in the Hoosier Classic. The Blazers took the win 3-2, playing in their first five set match of the season.

Wyoming jumped on the board quickly in the first set, taking a 4-0 lead. UAB stayed with the Lady Cowboys and eventually tied it up at 20-20, but were unable to push to the lead as the Wyoming went on to win 25-23.

The Blazers countered with a 25-17 win in set two to tie the match up at one set apiece. UAB never trailed in the second set to take the win easily. Wyoming took control early in the third, and carried the lead to a 25-16 win to go up 2-1 heading into the fourth set.

The Green and Gold were in a must-win situation in the fourth, battling to an extended set and taking the win 27-25. The Blazers were up 21-17 but Wyoming rattled off four-straight points to tie it up at 21-21. Both teams battled back and forth as they tried to go up by two to win the set.

It wasn't until junior Bethanie Thomas tallied a kill to give UAB a 26-25 lead, then a kill from sophomore Sam Skinner secured the fourth set victory 27-25 to force a tie-breaking fifth set. The Blazers hit a match-high .405 in the fourth set.

The fifth set was close until the final point, just as most of the match had been. The teams were tied 12-12 when Skinner rallied off two consecutive kills to give UAB a 14-12 lead. Skinner placed her 26^th kill of the match to punctuate a 15-13 win in the fifth set and secure the ninth win of the season for the Blazers.

Three Blazers recorded double-digit kills in the match, led by Skinner who had a career-high 26. Juniors Sara Rishell and Kiriana Hirini hit double-figures with 14 and 11 kills respectively. Hirini continued her efficient hitting, with a team-best .556 attack percentage on the morning. Senior Becca Howard dished out 52 assists to help the Blazers in the win.

Defensively, senior Rachel Fairbanks grabbed a season-high 23 digs to lead the team. Howard (19), senior Ally Slaugher (17), Skinner (13) and Thomas (10) all recorded double-digit kills as well. Both Howard and Skinner had a double-double in the match. Rishell added eight blocks as UAB held the Lady Cowboys to just .180 attack percentage on the day.

UAB will close out play in the Hoosier Classic later today when it faces Indiana at 6 p.m. CT.

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