The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
WKU
Volleyball Falls Short of WKU, 3-1
10/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB volleyball team won the first set, but Western Kentucky battled back to win three-straight and take the match 3-1 on Friday night in Bartow Arena.
"I think our kids competed hard tonight," head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "Our strength has been blocking and we did a nice job holding their hitters. Their hitters were well below their average so I think we did a nice job at the net."
UAB (6-20, 3-8 C-USA) finished with a .221 hitting percentage to .220 for WKU (23-5, 11-1 C-USA), but the Lady Toppers had 60 kills to the Blazers' 52 on the night.
Once again, UAB had a strong night at the net with 11 team blocks on the night. Senior Sara Rishell led the Blazers with six, while sophomore Amber Treace and senior Kiriana Hirini each added four.
The Blazers hit a clip of .221 on the night, led by Hirini's .526. Sophomore Gabby Deshotel led UAB with 13 kills, Hirini added 11 and senior Bethanie Thomas recorded 10. Treace did a good job finding the Blazer hitters, dishing out 42 helpers in the match.
UAB had the advantage early taking a 2-0 lead in the first set, but WKU would surge back with a 5-0 run to lead 5-2. The Blazers answered with a run of their own the tie the set up at 7-7. The teams traded points until another Lady Toppers run would put them up 21-17 and force a UAB timeout.
The Blazers responded with kills by Deshotel and Hirini but WKU rattled off three straight points to hold set point at 24-19. The Blazers refused to give up as they forced four-straight errors, the final on a block by Hirini and Thomas, to tie it up at 24-24. Tied at 25-25, two errors by WKU would give UAB the 27-25 win in the first.
In the second set, WKU stormed out to a 7-1 lead to force an early timeout for the Blazers. UAB was able to cut the lead to one, 9-8, but the Lady Toppers countered with another run and held on for a 25-18 win to tie the match up at 1-1.
It was a battle in the third set with 15 ties and seven lead changes between the two teams. UAB had forged ahead 20-19, but WKU recorded three-straight points for a 22-20 lead. The Blazers cut the lead to one at 24-23, but a kill by Haley Bodway game the Lady Toppers a 25-23 win.
WKU steadily stretched its lead in the fourth set, forcing UAB to call a timeout down 20-14. The Blazers would pull within four points, but could not overcome the deficit as WKU held on 25-21 to take the match.
"We just had some breakdowns in several different areas," Messersmith remarked. "We missed five serves in the last set and you just cannot do that. That has been something that has plagued us all year. Overall I'm pleased with their performance against a good team like that."
UAB will return to its home court on Sunday to host North Texas at 1 p.m.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For volleyball news, follow @UAB_VB.
