Montgomery, Ala. | Alabama State returns to the friendly confines of Lockhart Gymnasium for its first home match of the season Tuesday night, as the Lady Hornets face UAB at 7 pm.

Alabama State enters the contest following a tough three losses over the weekend at the Hyatt Regency Invitational in Atlanta. Despite the result, several positives were produced from the competition, including the emergence of junior Taira Cottingham. The outside hitter picked up her first career start against Tulane and did not disappoint, leading the Lady Hornets with 14.5 points and 11 kills. She was again inserted as a starter versus Wofford and finished with 10 kills, second only to Krysta Medearis' 11. Setter Kori Kutsch contributed with 65 assists in three total matches and is first in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in total assists (211) and assists per set (8.44). 

UAB makes the trip south Tuesday night with a record of 5-2. The Blazers picked up three wins over the weekend at the Skyhawk Invitational, which included wins over Central Arkansas, Florida A&M and UT-Martin. UAB was riding a five-game winning streak going into the weekend's final match against Memphis but fell in three sets to the Tigers. Abby Carlile leads the UAB offense 70 kills, while Emma Mitchell (64 kills) and Victoria Young (50 kills) have also had strong starts to the year. Carlile has hit .314 across 156 total attacks. Emily Young (26 blocks) and Young (25) pace the defense.

UAB and Alabama State have met 22 times on the court with the Blazers holding a 16-6 advantage in the all-time series. Alabama State won last season's match in Birmingham, 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 25-15, 25-23).

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