The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Volleyball Trio Earns All-Conference USA Honors
11/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 23, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Head coach Kerry Messersmith along with junior Sam Serley and senior Heather Thomas were recognized by Conference USA for all-conference awards, announced by the league office on Wednesday.
Head Coach Kerry Messersmith: Co-Coach of the Year
With a game remaining in the 2011 season, Kerry Messersmith has produced quite the turnaround from a season ago en route to earning her first ever C-USA Coach of the Year honor. Messersmith shares the award with Tulsa’s Steven McRoberts.
This season, Messersmith’s squad improved its win total by 10 games from last year and was projected to finish seventh in the league’s preseason poll. UAB currently sits tied for second place in the conference standings at 13-6 with an overall record of 23-8.
A victory against the Memphis Tigers on Wednesday night would secure an outright hold of second place to give the Blazers 24 total victories. The win would also give Messersmith her best winning percentage in a single season as coach of the Blazers.
The 13 C-USA wins by the Blazers under Messersmith’s guidance are tied for the most in the school record books with the 2008 UAB squad since joining the league in 1995.
Additionally, Messersmith recorded her 600th career win during the 2011 campaign by defeating Rice at Bartow Arena on Oct. 23.
Sam Serley, Middle Blocker: First Team All-Conference USA
In her junior season, Serley was a force in the middle for the Blazers both offensively and defensively as she started every match and participated in all 114 sets for the season.
On the attacking end, Serley produced a hitting percentage of .351 for the season, ranking third in the league, while putting away a team-best 275 kills. She reached double-digit kills in 13 contests and registered a .400 attacking clip or better 11 times. She tied for the league-best single match hitting percentage of .750 when she connected for 16 kills on 20 swings and committed just one error at Tulane (Oct. 2). She also garnered C-USA Offensive Player of the Week accolades on Oct. 10.
Serley was a stonewall when it came to her defensive play for the Blazers. As a team, UAB was statistically the best team in the conference in opponent’s hitting percentage (.163) and tied for tops in blocks per set (2.77). Serley was a main reason for that figure, averaging 1.31 blocks per stanza, good for third in the league. She tallied 14 matches of five-or-more blocks and recorded a pair of double-doubles in blocks and kills during the season.
Prior to the start of conference play, Serley was named to three all-tournament teams, including being named the Owls Classic MVP, hosted by Kennesaw State.
Serley was also named to the league’s all-academic team for the second-straight season and was a second team all-conference choice in 2010.
Heather Thomas, Libero: Second Team All-Conference USA
Thomas reached a number of milestones during her senior season in Green and Gold, most notably becoming just the fifth player in C-USA history to reach 2,000 digs. For her career she has a school record 2,101 ranking fourth all-time in the league and first in UAB lore.
The Madison, Ala. native corralled 601 digs for the season and with a match remaining has the opportunity to surpass her own single-season school record of 607 set in 2010. Thomas has three of the top four season dig totals at UAB.
She tallied 15 matches of 20-or-more digs, eight of which came against conference squads, while averaging a league-best 5.27 digs per set. Thomas has recorded double-digit digs in 60 consecutive matches and has played in every possible set (495) during her career.
On two occasions, Thomas earned C-USA Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 19, Nov. 7) and in four matches she posted a season-high 28 digs.
Prior to C-USA play, Thomas was named to a pair of all-tournament teams, including being selected as Creighton Classic MVP.
