UAB Splits Final Day of Samford Invitational

Saturday, September 7

Homewood, Ala.

10 a.m.

UAB

3-2

UNA

1-4

UAB

North Alabama

UAB Splits Final Day of Samford Invitational

9/7/2019 11:46:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 UNA box Samford box Season Stats

BIRMINGHAM – The UAB volleyball team finished play in the Samford Invitational on Saturday, splitting the day with a 3-1 win over North Alabama and a 3-1 loss to host Samford at the Pete Hanna Center. The Blazers got off to a strong start against the Lions that pushed them to victory in the first match, but were unable to come back on Samford after opening the second match with less energy.

"I'm really proud of the fight our team showed," said coach Amy Pauly. "Every time we had a dip in execution, we rebounded quickly."

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Emma Mitchell was the focal point of the UAB offense as she led the team with 26 kills through both matches. The Charlotte, N.C., native picked up 12 kills and nine digs in the first match victory and concluded the final match with 14 kills and nine digs.

"Emma had her best day of the season so far," said Pauly. "She's taking ownership of her 6 rotation role, and it's been fun to watch her grow into that. She did a much better job of moving the ball around and finding ways to score."

Match 1: UAB 3, North Alabama 1 (25-22 , 25-18 , 21-25, 25-21)
The two sides evenly traded points for most of the first set, but a final quick burst for three straight points was enough to allow the Blazers to take set one.

Set two was much of the same early on, but a pair of Blazer runs mid set created some separation between the two teams. Despite North Alabama creating a run of its own, UAB was too far ahead and finished with four straight points to clinch the set.

After UAB got off to a hot start to take an 11-3 lead early in the third set, North Alabama responded. The Lions slowly chipped away at UAB's lead before going on a six-point run late in the set and clinching moments later.

UAB got off to another good start in the fourth set with a 7-2 lead, but didn't let up this time. A six-point run shortly after gave the Blazers a nine-point advantage, which proved to be too much for North Alabama as UAB went on the win the set, 25-21 and clinch the match.

Match 2: Samford 3, UAB 1 (25-14 , 25-23 , 17 -25, 25-21)
Samford came out of the gates firing to open the match with eight straight points. The Bulldogs added strings of three and four more points shortly after, which proved too much for the Blazers despite a few runs of their own as Samford pulled away, 25-14.

The second set evened out as both sides strung together long runs and traded blows equally. Samford started the match with five straight points, followed by four straight from UAB that were answered by three more from Samford. Things went back and forth after that until Samford pieced together five more to go up 23-18. UAB closed the gap to 23-22 with its run, but the Bulldogs didn't surrender their lead to win the set, 25-23.

UAB woke up in the third set, scoring five of the first six points. With two quick five-point runs, UAB jumped ahead by 10. Samford later scored five straight of its own, but the push was too late as the Blazers took the set, 25-17.

Set four was fairly even throughout as Samford crated the first separation with a run of five to go up 8-3. After evenly battling shortly after, UAB narrowed the Bulldog lead to 14-13 with a quick run. Both squads went at it again for a bit before a final four-point run created a strong enough margin for Samford to clinch the set, 25-21 and the match, 3-1.

"What I'm most happy about is how balanced our team has been," said Pauly. "If one kid is hot one game, another one gets hot the next. We get better as a group every match."

Up Next
The Blazers' next competition will be at home as they host the Blazer Invitational on Sept. 12-14 in Bartow Arena. Joining UAB in the field will be Alabama, Georgia State, ETSU and Alcorn State. The Blazers will kick off the tournament by taking on Alabama at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12, then face Alcorn State at noon and Georgia State at 7 p.m. before concluding the tournament with ETSU at 7 p.m. on Sept. 14. UAB games will be streamed and have live stats provided with individual links located on the UAB volleyball schedule page.

Volleyball season tickets are on sale by purchasing the 2019-20 Gold Card for $65. The Gold Card is an exclusive offer that grants you admission into all UAB volleyball, men's and women's soccer, women's basketball, baseball and softball events for the upcoming academic year. Contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 for more details.

For more information on the UAB volleyball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter or Instagram (@UAB_VB).