The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Michigan State
Blazers Fall To No. 16 Michigan State 3-0 Friday
8/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Junior Sydney Nelson and sophomore Gabby Deshotel each tallied nine kills to lead the UAB volleyball in its 3-0 loss to No. 16 Michigan State on Friday night. The Blazers finished the first day of the UAB/Samford Tournament 1-1.
UAB (1-1) was unable to get going offensively, hitting just .121 for the match, while Michigan State hit .392 on the evening. Holly Toliver and Sllyssah Fitterer, who each had 10 kills, led the Spartans.
"Obviously we struggled offensively against Michigan State," head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "They are big, big on the block up front. However, I think a couple of our hitters did a nice job getting something going tonight. Sydney (Nelson) had a nice night. Gabby (Deshotel) really progressed and became more comfortable as the night went on."
Nelson also led the team in attack percentage, hitting a .533 with just one error in 15 attempts. Defensively, senior Bethanie Thomas led the team with eight digs and also added a block solo for the Blazers.
In the first set, the teams remained close until it was 17-15, Michigan State, when the Spartans were able to begin to pull away with a 6-1 run and force a UAB timeout. The Blazers cut the lead to 20-24, but Michigan State closed out the first set win with a kill by Fitterer.
The Spartans carried that momentum into the second set, taking an 11-5 lead early. Michigan State slowly stretched its lead and capped off the second set with a 7-0 run to win, 25-10 and head into the break up 2-0.
UAB had some spark in the third set when sophomore Amber Treace started at setter. Treace dished out 12 assists in the set to help the Blazers to a .343 attack percentage.
"I think Amber Treace went in and did a fantastic job in the third set," Messersmith remarked. "We have two setters that we can use on any give night. They both bring different things and that is exciting for us."
The Green and Gold were down 10-17, but rallied back out of a timeout to cut the lead to four (17-21). However, it would not get any closer as Michigan State held on with a 25-19 score to secure the win.
The Blazers had a win in the first match of the day to finish 1-1 heading into the second day of the UAB/Samford Tournament. UAB will play Georgia State at 2 p.m. across town at the Pete Hanna Center on Saturday, Aug. 30.
"We had a lot of good things happen today," head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "Earlier today we came out and blocked well. That has been a signature part of our game the last few years so I am happy with that."
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