The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Volleyball Battles At Houston Friday, Hosts Rice Sunday
10/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The UAB volleyball team takes off to Houston, Texas to play the UH Cougars on Friday at 7 p.m. CT before hosting the Rice Owls on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT in Bartow Arena. UAB and UH are tied for second in the league standings, while the Owls are right behind in third.
UAB (17-4, 7-2 C-USA) | Houston (14-5, 7-2) | Rice (11-9, 6-3)
UAB NOTEBOOK
ONE MORE FOR MESSERSMITH: Head coach Kerry Messersmith is just one win shy of No. 600 for her collegiate coaching career. In her 24th season as a head coach, Messersmith has compiled a 599-319 record, including a 125-67 mark at UAB.
13-MATCH WIN STREAK SNAPPED: Last week versus Tulsa, the Blazers dropped their first contest since a 3-2 loss to Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 3. UAB had captured 13 consecutive victories, including seven in league play, before falling on its home court to the Golden Hurricane. The 13 game win streak is the longest in the conference in 2011.
SERLEY AMONGST NATION’S BEST: Middle blocker Sam Serley sits fifth in the nation in attacking percentage, along with ranking first in C-USA with a .426 clip. For the season, Serley has connected for a team-best 210 kills on 397 total attacks and committed just 41 errors.
BLOCK PARTY: UAB is averaging a C-USA-best 2.87 blocks per set for the season, totaling 68 solo blocks, 318 block assists for a total of 227 over the span of 79 sets. In conference games, the Blazers have been an even stronger blocking squad, averaging 3.32 per set.
BLAZER LEADERS: Kills – Sam Serley (210); Assists – Alison Woods (440); Aces – Heather Thomas (21); Digs – Heather Thomas (398); Blocks – Sam Serley (104).
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
UH has won four-straight conference matches and is tied with the Blazers for the second-best league record in Conference USA. UAB will look to provide the first blemish for the Cougars at home, where they boast a perfect 8-0 tally on the season.
Like the Blazers, UH’s two losses came against Tulsa and SMU, with both matches taking place on the road. UAB lost to the same opponents at home inside Bartow Arena a weekend ago.
As a squad the Cougars rank second in the conference in hitting percentage at .250, trailing only the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (.254). Leading the offense has been redshirt senior Lucy Charuk. The middle blocker owns a .413 attacking clip, which sits second in the league only behind UAB’s Sam Serley. Charuk also averages 1.30 blocks per set, good for fourth in the league statistics.
At the setter position, UH has received strong play this season from Caitlin Ogletree. The three-time C-USA setter of the week, including the past two weeks, Ogletree averages 11.18 helpers per set for the season.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Rice enters the weekend winners of three of the last four, with two victories at Marshall and a three-game sweep of UTEP in El Paso, Texas.
The Owls featured a balanced offensive attack, with five players totaling more than 120 kills on the season. Leading the team is Nancy Cole (221 kills) with a per set average of 2.87 kills.
Other statistical leaders for the Owls include setter Megan Murphy (10.69 assists/set) and libero Megan White (4.35 digs/set).
ALL-TIME SERIES: Houston owns a commanding 17-3 advantage in the all-time series with UAB, including a pair of straight-set victories last season. The Blazers defeated Rice twice in 2011, with both matches needing a deciding frame. Rice holds an 8-6 lead in previous meetings.
