Blazers Head to Wichita, Kansas For Another Battle Against Bulls

BIRMINGHAM - A win on Friday against Florida Atlantic lands UAB in the American Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 8 seed. The Blazers (11-16, 6-11 AAC) will face No. 1 seed South Florida (18-9, 14-2 AAC) who they just played on Sunday. The first round of the tournament is set to start on Friday morning with the UAB against USF at 5 p.m. CT. Wichita State is hosting this year's AAC Tournament as a result of SMU leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference.

UAB won a four-way tie-break between Memphis, Tulane, and Temple by holding a 3-2 record against those opponents. South Florida clinched the AAC Regular Season Championship with the win over UAB on Sunday. The Blazers kept set one close scoring 21 points, but USF dominated sets two and three winning 3-0.

South Florida holds a 37-9 record against UAB winning five straight matches. The Blazers have played the Bulls 11 times this century with just one win in 2003. South Florida won 16 straight games from 1995-2002.

SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA
Maria Clara Andrade was named the Player of the Year in the AAC early this morning. She led the league in kills per set with 4.30 and was second in points per set with 4.77. Caroline Dykes also was named to the AAC conference honors receiving the Setter of the Year award. Head coach Jolene Shepardson took over the program in 2020 after the Bulls went 7-23. This year the team wrapped up a 18-9 regular season record and an AAC Regular Season title.

USF BEHIND THE NUMBERS

USF is ranked 15th in the country in assists per set (13.12).
South Florida ranks 22nd in kills per set (13.88).
Carolina Dykes is second in the AAC in assists per set (10.67) and is 19th in the country. Dykes leads the AAC in service aces with 42.
Maria Clara Andrade is second in the conference in total kills (434).

First serve is set for 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+ at Wichita State. Tickets can be found here.

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Blazers Head to Wichita, Kansas For Another Battle Against Bulls

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