University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
UAB
UAB Streaks Past Memphis, 3-0, in Season Finale
Nov 14, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
Memphis (3-13; 7-24 C-USA) 15 20 7 UAB (17-15; 9-7 C-USA) 25 25 25
The Memphis offense was held to .026 hitting as UAB routed the Tigers, 3-0, in the season finale Saturday night at Bartow Arena.
Altrese Hawkins led Memphis with nine kills, while Rebekah Strickland downed six kills and .200 in her final collegiate match. Christine Bach finished the night with 22 assists. Becky Shaffer picked up 13 digs.
The Blazers dominated play for the majority of the contest. UAB posted a 46-25 advantage in kills, 39-24 in assists, 56-48 in digs and 13-4 in blocks.
Sam Serley and Andrea Lalic downed a match-high 11 kills each, while Alison Woods set 33 assists to lead the Blazers to a .288 hitting percentage for the night. Heather Thomas and Jordan McDonald collected 19 and 12 digs, respectively.
UAB connected for kills on the first two rallies of the match and used a four-point push to extend its lead to 7-3. Ahead 13-9, the Blazer put together an 8-1 rally to take a commanding 11-point advantage. UAB's defense held Memphis to .125 hitting on just nine kills in the opener. They picked up 22 digs en route to a 25-15 opening-set win. Meanwhile, the Blazer's offense struck for 18 kills and hit .333.
The two clubs battled through seven ties before Hawkins and Casey Sines teamed up for a block and UAB committed a passing error to give Memphis a 10-8 cushion. The Tigers held a 16-13 lead before UAB rallied to tie the frame with three-straight scores. A kill by Strickland tied the contest at 19-all, but UAB broke the game open by scoring five-straight that included three kills. The Blazers closed out the second set on a 6-1 run to take a two-game lead into the intermission.
The finale was all UAB. Two kills, a block and a hitting error by the Tigers helped UAB to a 4-0 lead to start the third. UAB, who downed 11 kills and hit .435 in the final set, continued to increase its cushion, using a 10-point push to take an insurmountable 14-2 lead. Hawkins' eighth kill of the night ended the surge, but the Tigers could not hold off the strong UAB performance in the 25-7 finale.
Memphis says farewell to its four seniors--Sarah Chambers, Strickland, Rachel Theard and Thompson. Strickland rounds out her career with 441 kills and is 10th all-time at Memphis with a .243 hitting percentage. Theard, who had her best season in 2009, finished her Tigers stint with 270 digs and 37 kills. Thompson wraps up her Memphis career with 649 kills and 437 digs.
The Tigers conclude the 2009 season with a 7-24 overall record and a 3-13 mark in Conference USA play.
