The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Volleyball Travels To Marshall Friday
10/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
UAB (5-17, 2-5 C-USA) at Marshall (9-12, 3-3 C-USA)
Friday, Oct. 17 at 4:30 p.m. CT
Huntington, W. Va.
Coverage: Live Stats | Watch
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB volleyball team will travel to Huntington, W. Va. to take on Marshall on Friday. The Blazers and Thundering Herd will have an early match set to begin at 4:30 p.m. CT.
UAB snapped a five-match losing streak with its 3-0 sweep of Middle Tennessee at home on Tuesday night. The Blazers had their second-best offensive performance of the season, hitting .381 as a team with 49 kills over the three sets.
Three players had double-figure kills, with sophomore Gabby Deshotel leading the team with 15. Sophomore Amber Treace dished out 43 assists, helping four of the UAB hitters surpass a .400 attack percentage. Defensively, sophomore Emma Schroer picked up 14 digs at libero and senior Bethanie Thomas tallied her fourth double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs.
UAB Among Conference USA
The Blazers are leading the conference in blocks by opponents, allowing just 1.76 blocks per set. The Blazers had a season-high 16.0 blocks against UTEP. Individually, senior Sara Rishell is ninth in hitting percentage in C-USA matches. Rishell is hitting a clip of .356 in 24 sets played. Also moving into the rankings in league play is setter Amber Treace. Treace is averaging 9.42 assists per set in 19 sets played.
Series History
Friday's match will be the 18th meeting between UAB and Marshall. The Blazers hold a slight advantage, winning 10 of the 17 previous matches. Most recently, the teams met on Oct. 20, 2013 with the Thundering Herd taking the win, 3-0. The Blazers won both meetings in 2012, which included the last time the two teams played in Huntington.
Scouting the Opposition
Marshall (9-12, 3-3 C-USA) is looking to snap its three-match losing streak, all on the road. The Thundering Herd most recently fell to Southern Miss, 3-1 to conclude its three-match road swing. Four players are averaging over 2.00 kills per set, led by Cassie Weaver's 2.72 kills per set. Defensively, Jillian Shemanski is leading Marshall with 1.11 blocks per set to rank third in Conference USA.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For volleyball news, follow @UAB_VB.
