Nov. 19, 2006

HOUSTON, Texas - The UAB volleyball team is set to play in its first Conference USA championship match in program history on Sunday evening as the fifth-seeded Blazers will play third-seeded Memphis at 5 p.m. in a match to be aired nationally on CSTV. Jason Knapp and Anne-Marie Anderson will call the action as the 26-9 Blazers take on the 27-7 Tigers. The two teams split their two meetings in the regular season with the home team winning 3-2 both times.

The Blazers won the first meeting against Memphis this season on Sept. 19 in Bartow Arena. In that match, junior middle blocker Angie Ping provided UAB with a spark off the bench as she played in three games in which she totaled five kills on .400 hitting, while serving three aces.

A team that has not lost in November and has won 12-straight, UAB will be seeking its first conference championship since winning the Great Midwest Conference title back in 1992.

The Blazers have won each of their three matches at the tournament by a 3-1 count and have been led by numerous standout performances. Sophomore outside hitter Ivana Bozic is averaging 4.58 kills per game and 3.92 digs for the tournament. Junior outside hitter Fernanda Domingos is averaging 4.25 kills per game, while hitting .356.

Defensively, junior middle blocker Shaniquwa Cooper had a breakout match in the semifinals against top-seeded Tulsa as she set the Conference USA Tournament record with 15 total blocks, ousting her previous career-high of seven. Junior libero Brianna Galvin has continued to be the backbone of the UAB defense as she is averaging 5.00 digs per game for the tournament.

The Blazers and Tigers will take to the court at 5 p.m. and can be seen LIVE nationally on CSTV. The match can also be followed on Gametracker at UABsports.com.