The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Austin Peay
UAB Claims Blazer Classic Tournament After Perfect Saturday
9/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Austin Peay Box
Sept. 5, 2015
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --The UAB volleyball team completed three-set sweeps over Savannah State (0-8) and Austin Peay (2-5) Saturday at Bartow Arena, claiming the Blazer Classic tournament title.
UAB, FIU and Austin Peay all finished the tournament at 2-1, but the Blazers earned the tie breaker by winning eight sets compared to APSU's and FIU's six over the course of the tournament to claim the title. UAB did not drop a single set on Saturday en route to the tournament win.
"We asked the girls to come out with energy, and they did exactly what we asked them to do," said head coach Kerry Messersmith. "That is going to be the difference in our team. If we can do that every day, we have a chance to be in every match."
Junior Gabby Deshotel led the Blazer offense with 23 kills. The outside hitter also added two assists and two service aces to the UAB offense. Defensively, Deshotel contributed two blocks and nine digs.
Deshotel's closed the tournament with 47 kills for a .309 clip, two assists and three aces as well as recording 18 digs and four block assists to earn the tournament MVP honor.
Libero Emma Schroer picked up All-Tournament honors with her defensive performance after recording 47 digs and two service aces.
Freshman Zahria Ri'chard recorded a breakout performance in the Blazers' match with Austin Peay. Ri'Chard recorded seven kills for a .667 clip and provided seven blocks in the match. Senior Sydney Nelson tied that feat with seven blocks against the Governors.
"Zahria had a fantastic night," said Messersmith. "Hitting .667 with seven blocks is incredible for her as a freshman. We played a very good Austin Peay team. They are well organized and well coached. I couldn't be happier for the girls' performance."
Match One -- Savannah Sate (W, 3-0)
The Blazers dominated Savannah State by sweeping all three sets against the Tigers to claim the victory to open Saturday's action.
Deshotel led the UAB offense with 15 kills and a .379 attack percentage in the first set. Freshman Jillian Tinglin and junior Amy Hunter both added five kills to the Blazers' attack.
Hunter added a team-leading five blocks to contribute to the UAB defense. Schroer paced the Blazer defense with 10 digs.
The offense was orchestrated by setters junior Amber Treace and Caitlin Conner with 15 and 13 assists, respectively.
Freshman Sydney Hinds proved to be a lethal server with a match-leading three service aces over the Tigers.
The Blazers set the tone in the first set with a 9-0 run in the late stages that would allow UAB to cruise to a 25-12 victory to open the match.
The Tigers would battle back in the second set to force a back-and-forth battle, but Deshotel's fifth kill of the set was the decider as the Blazers claimed the two-set advantage (25-20).
The Blazers scored early and often in set three, including a 10-0 run for UAB that proved too much for Savannah State to overcome. The Blazers secured the match victory with a 25-15 set-three final.
Match Two -- Austin Peay (W, 3-0)
The Blazers blocked past Austin Peay in a dominating, three-set performance. UAB posted 12 blocks compared to the five of APSU. Ri'chard and Nelson each recorded seven blocks.
Ri'chard added seven kills to the UAB offense and was one shy of Deshotel's team-leading eight kills.
Conner and Treace split time at the setter position with 13 and 15 assists, respectively. Schorer controlled the defense with a team-leading 11 digs.
Austin Peay took control of the first set to hold a five-point lead over the Blazers at the midway point, but UAB battled back with the help of APSU errors to win the set, 25-21.
The Blazers pressured the Governors in sets two and three with multiple runs, including a 9-0 run in set three, to quiet APSU's offense and recorded 25-16 and 25-12 set wins to sweep the match.
UAB returns to conference action on Monday, when the Blazers travel to North Texas. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
For more information on the UAB volleyball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_VB). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
