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HOUSTON, Texas -- Rallying from two games down, the UAB Blazers defeated Memphis, 3-2 (26-30, 22-30, 30-23, 30-27, 15-10), to win the 2006 Conference USA Volleyball Championship title on Sunday at Hofheinz Pavilion on the campus of the University of Houston.
Sophomore Ivana Bozic earned MVP honors with a match-high 23 kills for the Blazers. Teammate Briana Galvin set a C-USA Championship record for digs in a championship while Junior Shaniquwa Cooper set both a single-match and championship record for total blocks and block assists. Cooper totaled a record 23 blocks, with 21 assists on the weekend. Newcomer of the Year Fernanda Domingos also garnered all-tournament honors.
Memphis junior Shelby Burton led the Tigers with 22 kills and a .474 hitting percentage in today's match. Burton was joined on the all-tournament team by her teammate, sophomore setter Laure Cote, two-time C-USA Player of the Year Kelly-Anne Billingy of Marshall and Houston's Justine Farmer. Five of the six all-tournament members were also All-Conference USA first-team selections.
This is the third straight time UAB and Memphis have played to five games. The Blazers were making their first championship appearance, while UofM advanced to the 2003 Championship final.
With the win, UAB has now won 13 straight matches and 12 against conference foes. The fifth-seeded Blazers became only the second team in conference history to win four matches to get a championship title. DePaul won the 2001 Championship after entering the 12-team field as a No. 5 seed as well, which was coincidentally also played at Houston's Hofheinz Pavilion.
UAB also earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship, improving to 27-9. The 27 wins is the most in school history since 1991. The Blazers have swept the 2006 C-USA women's championships this fall, earning the women's cross country title, the women's soccer championship and now the volleyball title.
2006 C-USA All-Tournament Team
MVP - Ivana Bozic, UAB
Fernanda Domingos, UAB
Shelby Burton, MEM
Laura Cote, MEM
Kelly-Anne Billingy, MAR
Justine Farmer, HOU
Saturday's semifinals featured 3-1 wins by both Memphis and UAB to vault them into the championship match.
No. 1 seed Tulsa swept No. 8 SMU to begin play Friday. Match two on Friday saw No. 5 UAB upset No. 4 Tulane, 3-1. Friday's third quarterfinal featured a record-breaking performance from Marshall, but it was not enough as the Herd fell to the the host Houston Cougars, 3-2. In the nightcap, Memphis downed UTEP 3-1.
Thursday's first-round action featured No. 8 SMU defeating No. 9 Southern Miss in a five-game thriller, 3-2. In match two, No. 5 UAB downed No. 12 UCF, 3-1. Match number three between No. 7 Houston and No. 10 Rice saw the host Cougars win in a 3-0 sweep. The nightcap saw No. 11 UTEP upset No. 6 East Carolina, 3-2.
Thursday, Nov. 16
(8) SMU def. (9) Southern Miss, 3-2
In match one of the 2006 Conference USA Volleyball Championship, SMU outlasted Southern Miss, 3-2, in a five-game thriller. SMU rallied to win game four, 32-30, and then kept the momentum to take game five, 15-11. The Mustangs' Caitlin Rainbird led all players with 20 kills and chipped in with 11 digs for the double-double, her 18th on the season.
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(5) UAB def. (12) UCF, 3-1
Match two of the 2006 Conference USA Volleyball Championship at Hofheinz Pavilion saw UAB down UCF, 3-1 (30-24, 30-24, 27-30, 30-17) to extend their winning streak to a team and conference season-best 10 games. The win was the first for the Blazers in the C-USA Championship since 1999 when they defeated St. Louis, 3-1.
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(7) Houston def. (10) Rice, 3-0
In match number three of the 2006 Conference USA Volleyball Championship in Houston, Texas, the host Cougars downed cross town rival Rice, 3-0 (30-27, 30-28, 30-23). Houston's Justine Farmer led all players with 28 kills, while hitting .429. The sophomore also tallied 16 digs to notch her league-leading 22nd double-double. This is the first time that Houston has swept Rice since 1999.
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(11) UTEP def. (6) East Carolina, 3-2
Day one of the 2006 Conference USA Volleyball Championship at the University of Houston was concluded with another five-game match featuring No. 6 East Carolina and No. 11 UTEP. Playing the role of spoiler, the Miners upset the Pirates, 3-2, and improved to 7-24 with the win. UTEP jumped out to the 1-0 lead, but dropped games two and three. They were able to battle back to force a fifth and deciding game and had no problem putting the Pirates away 15-8 in the fifth frame.
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Friday, Nov. 17
(1) Tulsa def. (8) SMU, 3-0
In the first match of day two at the 2006 Conference USA Volleyball Championship in Hofheinz Pavilion, No. 1 Tulsa downed No. 8 SMU 3-0. The Golden Hurricane has won five matches in a row and improved to 27-6 on the season with the win. TU had three players register double-digit kills.
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(5) UAB def. (4) Tulane, 3-1
Friday's second quarterfinal match of the 2006 Conference USA Volleyball Championship in Houston, Texas, featured the first upset of the day and the second of the championship as No. 5 UAB downed No. 4 Tulane, 3-1. The Blazers have won a league-best 11 straight games and improve to 25-9 with the win. The 25 wins are the most for UAB since 1999, when the team won 33.
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(7) Houston def. (2) Marshall, 3-2
In a re-match of last season's championship game, the third quarterfinal match of the 2006 Conference USA Volleyball Championship at Hofheinz Pavilion was everything a match against the two pre-season favorites should be. No. 7 Houston kept with the theme of the championship by pulling off the upset of No. 2 Marshall in a five-game thriller, 3-2. Marshall's Kelly-Anne Billingy, the NCAA leader in kills per game, established a new C-USA Championship record with her 44 kills in the loss. The total was also the second-most in C-USA history
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(3) Memphis def. (11) UTEP, 3-1
In the final quarterfinal match of the 2006 C-USA Volleyball Championship in Houston, Texas, the No. 3 seed Memphis Tigers downed the No. 11 seed UTEP Miners, 3-1. Shelby Burton led all players with 23 kills and hit an impressive .579 for the match to lead the Tigers.
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Saturday. Nov. 18
(5) UAB def. (1) Tulsa, 3-1
In Saturday's first semifinal match of the 2006 Conference USA Volleyball Championship in Houston, Texas, No. 5 UAB kept their title hopes alive with their second upset in as many days with a 3-1 win over No. 1 Tulsa. UAB extended its league-best winning streak to 12 matches with the win and is making its first championship match appearance in program history. UAB had not won a championship match since 1999 coming into the tournament.
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(3) Memphis def. (7) Houston, 3-1
In the second semifinal match of the 2006 Conference USA Volleyball Championship in Houston, Texas, on Saturday No. 3 Memphis defeated No. 7 Houston, 3-1. For the second day in a row Shelby Burton was a force for the Tigers slamming a game-high 21 kills, while hitting .576 with seven blocks, five digs and five aces. With the win, Memphis advances to its first C-USA Championship game since the 2003 season and is seeking its first C-USA volleyball championship.
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Sunday, Nov. 19
(5) UAB def. (3) Memphis, 3-2
The No. 5 UAB Blazers are the 2006 C-USA Volleyball Champions after rallying from a two-game deficit to upset No. 3 Memphis, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon in the championship match at Hofheinz Pavilion. UAB's Ivana Bozic was named tournament MVP.
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