UAB Sand Volleyball Releases Inaugural Schedule
Blazers primed for opening season in the sand
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Head coach Hal Messersmith recently announced the schedule for the 2012 sand volleyball team in its inaugural season at UAB. The Blazers will compete on 11 total dates, including three home matches on their new courts located adjacent to UAB’s West Campus Field.
The schedule features home-and-home series against Florida State, Tulane and Mercer, along with tournaments at the College of Charleston and North Florida.
“We have a very strong schedule,” Messersmith said. “No one knows if we could be the best team in the region or we could be the worst. The West coast teams have a lot of sand volleyball players that competed in national leagues. There might only be one or two of those leagues in the whole Southeast.”
Sand volleyball, which is considered an emerging sport for women in college athletics, will not have an official NCAA championships tournament in its first year. However, the Blazers have the opportunity to qualify for the AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championships, held in in Gulf Shores, Ala. from April 27-29.
“To qualify for nationals we have to be one of the top four teams in the country,” Messersmith said. “They will take two from the Southeast, one from the West and an at-large team. We are trying to play as many of the Southeast teams as we can so we can qualify.”
UAB opens the season at home on Saturday, March 3 against the Florida State Seminoles at 1 p.m. CT. The Blazers close out the season on April 21 in Tallahassee, Fla.
The lone other Conference USA school that will compete in sand volleyball is the Tulane Green Wave, which the Blazers will play on the road on March 10 prior to hosting on April 6.
The third home-and-home series against Mercer is slated for March 21 in Chamblee, Ga., and at home on April 15.
Rounding out the 2012 schedule are two tournaments – College of Charleston Duals (March 23-25) and UNF Tournament (March 31-April 1).
Messersmith is excited for the season to get under way to see how the team will compete and how the sport will grow nationally.
“We only have three matches at home this year, but next year that should increase,” Messersmith said. “The maximum you can play is on 16 dates. We are playing 11 and most teams are only playing eight. Next year Georgia State and a few other schools in our region are adding sand volleyball so we will have more opportunities for home-and-home series.”
Messersmith is pleased with the schedule as it gives the team an opportunity to gauge his team’s talent against other schools.
“Other than FAU, FIU and Florida Gulf Coast, we play almost everyone in our region so it will give us a strong look at the competition. If we play well and finish in the top two we have a chance to play on television at the national championships down at Gulf Shores.”
