Oct. 9, 2008

UAB Match Notes (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB volleyball team plays its only two October road matches this weekend when the Blazers travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., and Orlando, Fla.

UAB opens its weekend Friday with a 7 p.m. contest at Southern Miss before heading to UCF for a Noon CT match on Sunday.

The Blazers (14-3, 4-1 C-USA) enter Friday's match with eight straight victories and wins in 14 of their past 15 contests. UAB is riding high following a pair of league wins last weekend, including Sunday's 3-2 victory over Conference USA preseason favorite Tulane.

Led by reigning C-USA Offensive Player of the Week Ivana Bozic, the Blazers are tied for first place in the C-USA standings and receiving votes in the latest CBS College Sports/AVCA Coaches Poll.

"We're playing well right now, but we still have a long way to go," UAB head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "We have the bulk of our season ahead of us, and we want to make sure we continue to improve every weekend."

In Friday's contest, the Blazers face a Southern Miss team that is coming off a pair of conference wins last weekend. The Golden Eagles defeated both East Carolina and Marshall in five sets to improve their record to 12-6 (2-3 C-USA).

UAB owns an 18-15 edge in the all-time series with Southern Miss. The Blazers won both meetings in 2007, earning a 3-2 victory in Hattiesburg and picking up a 3-0 sweep in Birmingham.

Depending on Friday's results, first place in the league standings could be on the line Sunday when UAB meets UCF. Both teams enter the weekend with identical 4-1 marks in C-USA action. While UAB plays Southern Miss on Friday, UCF will be hosting Memphis.

The Knights enter their Friday match at 12-6 overall, including wins in eight of their past nine contests. UCF picked up two conference wins last weekend with five-set victories over Marshall and East Carolina.

UAB is 6-5 all-time against UCF, and the Blazers earned 3-0 sweeps in both meetings between the teams last season.

"We're looking forward to a really tough weekend," Messersmith said. "Southern Miss and UCF are both coming off big wins last weekend. Both matches will be tough just like it is every time you take the floor in Conference USA."