The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Three Volleyball Players Receive AVCA All-Region Honors
12/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 10, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- UAB seniors Ivana Bozic and Nevena Stefanov have been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I All-Midwest Region Team, as announced Wednesday by the AVCA.
Additionally, teammate and fellow senior Casey Dent was recognized as an honorable mention selection.
The three honorees are the most in program history for UAB and the first since 2006 when Bozic was named All-Region and Fernanda Domingos was recognized as an honorable mention selection.
"All three of our players are very deserving of the honors they have received," UAB head coach Kerry Messersmith said. "They have each been very important to our team for a long time, and it is exciting for the program to see them recognized in this way."
Bozic, an outside hitter, finished 2008 as UAB's team leader in both kills per set (3.36) and digs per set (3.43). She also ranked in the top 10 in Conference USA in both categories. An All-C-USA First Team selection, Bozic was named the league's offensive player of the week three times and the Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU.com) National Player of the Week once. She managed a team-best 19 double-doubles on the season.
A native of Arandjelovac, Serbia, Bozic concluded her four-year career ranked third all-time at UAB with 1,874 career kills and fifth in school annals with 1,394 digs.
Stefanov wrapped up her career this season as one of the most prolific setters in Conference USA history. With 5,839 career assists, she ranks fourth in league history and second all-time at UAB.
Stefanov, a native of Belgrade, Serbia, was also an All-C-USA First Team selection this season and the league's setter of the year. She finished second in the conference and currently ranks 22nd in the nation with 11.11 assists per set. Stefanov posted at least 50 assists in nine matches and tallied nine double-doubles in 2008.
Dent, a middle blocker, finished her senior season with a .365 hitting percentage, which ranks third in Conference USA and 30th in the country. Another All-C-USA First Team selection, Dent managed 347 kills with just 71 errors in 756 total attempts this season.
The Helena, Ala., product has also been honored three times in her career on both the C-USA All-Academic Team and the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Region Team. For her career, she owns a .333 hitting percentage to rank second all-time at UAB.
The Blazers concluded their season last Saturday with a second-round loss to No. 4 overall seed Nebraska in the NCAA tournament. UAB finished the season at 27-8 and earned the first NCAA tournament win in school history with a 3-0 victory over Missouri State last Friday.
