Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
UAB
No. 2 UAB Sweeps By No. 10 Marshall, 3-0
11/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 21, 2008
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Marshall University senior Jalicia Ross (Bank Village, Trinidad) blasted 12 kills, but No. 2 UAB received a match-high 14-kill effort from Lilly Domingos to help lift the Blazers to a 3-0 (13-25, 22-25, 17-25) sweep of the 10th-seeded Thundering Herd in Friday afternoon's Conference USA Championship quarterfinal volleyball match at the Elma Roane Field House in Memphis, Tenn.
With the loss, Marshall is eliminated from the tournament and finishes its season with a record of 13-15 overall, while UAB improves to 24-5 on the season and advances to play the winner of No. 11 UTEP and No. 3 Rice.
Leading 2-0 in the match, UAB raced out to a 15-8 lead and extended that lead to 16-10 before Ross and Kristin Marcum (Arlington, Texas) downed two kills each to bring the score to 16-13. From there the Blazers scored eight of the next 11 points to post a 24-16 lead. Layne Kehl (Mountain Top, Pa.) drilled her ninth kill of the match to make it 24-17, but Ivan Bozic sealed the match for UAB with her 12th kill of the contest.
UAB swept the regular season series against Marshall, and with Friday's victory, the Blazers now own a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series.
"I thought UAB did a great job of never allowing us to get in the flow of the game," head coach Mitch Jacobs said following the match. "UAB just served tougher and played tougher than us."
In the opening set, UAB opened up an early 4-0 lead and extended that lead to 13-6 over the next 15 points. From there, the Blazers continued to control play, scoring seven of the next nine points to post a 20-9 advantage. Marshall rallied for three consecutive points, highlighted by an assisted block from Ross and Kristin Marcum (Arlington, Texas), but UAB closed out the stanza on a 5-1 run, claiming the set 25-13. The Blazers hit .359 for the set that included a seven-kill effort from Domingos.
In the second frame, Marshall, trailing 10-9, used a kill by Ross and an assisted block from Ross and Elizabeth Fleming (South Bend, Ind.) to claim an 11-10 edge, but UAB answered with five consecutive points to stake a 15-11 lead. Marcum pulled the Herd to within two by downing back-to-back kills, bringing the score to 15-13. Marshall would shrink its deficit to two five more times before Marcum sent the score to 21-20 with her fourth kill of the contest. UAB then scored four of the next six points despite kills from Ross and Layne Kehl (Mountain Top, Pa.), allowing the Blazers take the second set 25-22 and build a 2-0 lead in the match.
Kehl tied her career-high with nine kills, while Megan Carlson (Andover, Minn.) paced the Herd defense with a match-best 14 digs. Marcum added seven kills and nine digs, while Fleming passed out 33 assists in the losing effort.
In addition to Domingos' 14 kills, UAB was led offensively by Andrea Lalic (13 kills) and Bozic's 12. The Blazers' defensive-effort was headed up by Aleksandra Vujovic's 13 digs, while Neven Stefanov paced the UAB offense with 46 assists.
