The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Play Road Matches At ECU, Marshall
11/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 18, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The UAB volleyball team will hit the road for its last two away games of the regular season. The trip begins with a contest on Friday at Minges Coliseum versus East Carolina at 6 p.m. CT before playing at Marshall on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT.
UAB (21-8, 11-6 C-USA) | East Carolina (2-24, 0-17) | Marshall (8-19, 7-10)
THE UAB RUNDOWN
The Blazers split a pair of matches a weekend ago, falling to Southern Miss in three sets before sweeping Tulane.
UAB currently sits in second place in the Conference USA standings with a league record of 11-6. Rice owns the same league tally, but the Blazers own the tiebreaker by defeating the Owls in Birmingham in the two teams only matchup on Oct. 23.
UAB LEADERS
Kills: Sam Serley, 261
Hitting Percentage: Sam Serley, .352
Assists: Alison Woods, 608 | Becca Howard, 485
Service Aces: Heather Thomas, 26
Dig: Heather Thomas, 570
Blocks: Sam Serley, 140
GIVE ME 5
Senior libero Heather Thomas needs only five digs to move into fourth place for career digs in C-USA history. She currently has 2,070 for her career in Green and Gold and would surpass Trish Ladusaw who played at Cincinnati (1999-02).
- Jaci Gonzalez, Houston - 2,451
- Tracey Lam, Rice - 2,168
- Sidney Stewart*, SMU - 2,167
- Trish Ladusaw, Cincinnati - 2,074
- 5. Heather Thomas*, UAB - 2,070
*active
THOMAS EYES RECORD
Heather Thomas already has three of the top four single-season dig totals in UAB lore and is zeroing in on resetting her own record she set a season ago. In 2010, Thomas corralled 607 digs, currently the best school mark. With three matches remaining, she needs 38 digs over the next three matches to break her own record.
- Heather Thomas, 2010 - 607
- Briana Galvin, 2006 - 592
- Heather Thomas, 2009 - 586
- 4. Heather Thomas*, 2011 - 570
*active
WINNING WAYS
The 21 overall victories for UAB are tied for the third most in school history since being a part of Conference USA in 1995. If the Blazers can capture their final three conference games, they would tie for the second-most victories with the 2007 squad that finished 24-10.
UAB could also reach 14 C-USA victories if it can take the last three league matches, setting a new school record. The 2008 team finished with 13 conference wins, but only played a 16-match league schedule. Changes to the league format now have each team play 20 C-USA matches with no conference tournament.
ECU REPORT
The Pirates dropped a pair of league matches last weekend, 3-0 and 3-1 at UTEP and UCF, respectively. One of the top players on ECU is libero Shelby Beasley, who averages a team-best 3.70 digs per set. Her dig average also ranks 11th in the conference.
ECU LEADERS
Kills: Britney Roper, 180
Hitting Percentage: Kelly Derby, .194
Assists: Zarah Cecich, 382 | Kasey Kavanaugh, 265
Service Aces: Britney Roper, 23
Digs: Shelby Beasley, 307
Blocks: Kelly Derby, 80
MARSHALL REPORT
The Thundering Herd volleyball squad has been on a slight skid as of late. After reeling off four-straight league victories, Marshall has lost its last three. Offensively, the Herd features two players, Abby Tomas and Cameron Yoho, who rank in the top-20 in kills per set.
Tomas is 13th in C-USA with 3.12 kills per set, while Yoho is 18th with an average of 2.87.
HERD LEADERS
Kills: Abby Tomas, 151
Hitting Percentage: Sacha Byous-McConnell, .269
Assists: Sammie Bane, 10.05
Service Aces: Sammie Bane, 18
Digs: Ryanne Milligan, 350
Blocks: Desirre Wilkerson, 94
