The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Middle Tennessee
UAB Volleyball Sweeps Middle Tennessee Tuesday
10/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Final Stats | Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB volleyball team used one of its best offensive performances of the season to sweep Conference USA foe Middle Tennessee, 3-0, on Tuesday night. The Blazers hit .381 as a team to top the Blue Raiders.
"They finally put together just a solid all-around match," head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "It may have been one of the first nights that has happened for us. It was good to see them put all the pieces together."
UAB improved to 5-17 on the season and 2-5 in conference play, while Middle Tennessee fell to 6-15 overall and 2-5 in C-USA. Three different players finished with double figure kills for the Blazers, who tallied their highest number of kills in a three-set match.
Sophomore Gabby Deshotel led UAB with 15 kills, senior Bethanie Thomas finished with 13 kills and fellow senior Kiriana Hirini added 11. Sophomore Amber Treace ran the offense for the Blazers, dishing out 43 assists on 49 kills.
"I was really proud of Amber (Treace) tonight," Messeresmith remarked. "She did a fantastic job. She made good decisions all night and picked good locations, just a really nice job from her."
Four Blazers hit over .400 for the match, including Hirini's team-leading .450 attack percentage. Thomas recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 10 digs to go along with her 13 kills.
Sophomore Emma Schroer made her first start at libero for UAB and picked up a team-high 14 digs on the night.
UAB started strong and never looked back in Tuesday's match. The Blazers surged to an 8-5 lead to force a Middle Tennessee timeout early in the first set and used an 8-0 run to push the lead to 18-10. They held on to take the first set, 25-13.
In the second set, the Blazers opened with three-straight kills, including two by Thomas. The Blue Raiders came back to tie it up at 12-12, but 7-1 run by UAB swung the momentum in its favor and secured a 25-19 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The teams battled back and forth in the third set, which saw 10 ties and three lead changes. UAB pulled ahead 23-20 to force a Middle Tennessee timeout. The Blue Raiders were able to cut the lead to 24-22, but a service error at match point secured the victory for the Blazers.
UAB will be on the road this weekend as it travels to Huntington, W. Va. to take on Marshall on Friday, Oct. 17.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For volleyball news, follow @UAB_VB.
