The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Marshall
UAB Concludes Season With 3-1 Loss To Marshall
11/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Final Stats | Box Score 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB volleyball team fell to Marshall, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon in its final match of the 2014 season. The Blazers finished 8-24 overall and 4-11 in Conference USA.
"I really just want to thank the seniors," head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "They have been a great group of players for us. It was a tough season and I think the one thing I can say is that they stayed together, which doesn't always happen when you have a season like this. We have a tremendous bunch of kids."
UAB out-hit Marshall (16-15, 10-6 C-USA) with a .215 attack percentage on the day, while holding Marshall to just a .161 clip.
The Blazers were solid at the net, putting down 13 blocks on the day to just six for Marshall. UAB also scooped up 63 digs to 58 for the Herd. Sophomore Emma Schroer led all players with a career-high 28 digs for UAB.
Senior Bethanie Thomas contributed in all aspects of the match, tying her season-high with 16 kills on a .371 hitting to lead the team and added six digs and four blocks. Fellow senior Sara Rishell tallied 11 kills and led the Blazers with six blocks.
"Obviously, Bethanie had an outstanding game," Messersmith stated. "It was probably one of her best matches as a Blazer, so that was a great way for her to go out."
Also recording 11 kills was sophomore Gabby Deshotel and freshman Gabbi Moreno dished out 41 assists on the day to the Blazer hitters. Moreno also had seven digs and two kills.
UAB started strong in the first set taking a 6-3 lead, but a 6-1 run by Marshall would give the Thundering Herd a 9-7 advantage. The Blazers would tie the set twice, but were unable to regain the lead as Marshall held on for a 25-22 win.
The teams saw the score tied six times early in the second set, but UAB rattled off five-straight points to take a 15-9 lead. The Blazers would close out the set with the final six points to take the 25-16 win and tie the match at 1-1.
Marshall stormed out to a 5-1 lead in the third set but UAB bounced back with four consecutive points, including two kills by senior Kiriana Hirini, to tie it at 5-5. The Thundering Herd took the lead once again and was up 12-7 to force a UAB timeout.
The Blazers climbed back into it to tie the set up three more times, but could never take over the lead as Marshall went on to win, 25-22. UAB could not get its momentum back as the Thundering Herd closed out the match with a 25-16 win in the fourth set.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For volleyball news, follow @UAB_VB.
