BIRMINGHAM – Mississippi Valley suffered two loses on day one of the University of Alabama at Birmingham tournament. They faced the hosting Blazers of UAB and the University of New Orleans; dropping both 3-0.

GAME ONE

With both teams representing heat, the deciding factor was who blazed hotter. On Friday, the Blazers turned up the heat, securing the win in straight sets: 25-7, 25-14 and25-17.
Sets two and three, Mississippi Valley quickly began to heat up as they dueled UAB.

With several bright spots, the Devilettes were able to leave the floor, knowing they put on a show. Taylor Selfridge landed five amazing kills, while Haley Buard and Kalin Barnes scored four and three.

Jaime Polk and Joilyn Azore each recorded one block. Polk paced Mississippi Valley with nine assists. Brianca Watkins tallied six.

Barnes used fancy footwork to get to the ball, allowing her to record 12 digs, Jessica Bell added 11 and Selfridge wrapped up the category with seven.

GAME TWO

In game two of the afternoon, MVSU squared off against the University of New Orleans Privateers. UNO was able to slip past the Devilettes 3-0 (25-10, 25-15 and 26-24).

Statistically, Mississippi Valley completed the contest with 47 digs, 25 kills, 24 assists, two blocks and one ace.

Taylor Selfridge pushed through to be a leader in four categories: kills (6), digs (10), blocks and assists (2). Kalin Barnes blazed in three categories: kills (9), digs (8) and assists (1). Jaime Polk recorded the lone ace for MVSU and she also paced the team in assists (21) and digs (12).