The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Volleyball Closes Out Home Schedule
11/1/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 1, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The UAB volleyball team will close out the 2012 home portion of its schedule by hosting East Carolina, Friday at 7 p.m. CT, and Marshall, Sunday at 1 p.m. CT, this weekend.
UAB (16-12, 8-4 C-USA) | East Carolina (1-22, 0-12) | Marshall (16-10, 6-6)
UAB SCOUTING REPORT
The Blazers posted a 1-1 record last week, defeating SMU in five sets at home before falling, 3-0, at league leading Tulsa. The loss to the Golden Hurricane snapped a nine-match win streak and was the first loss for UAB in the month of October.
With a league record of 8-4, UAB sits in third place in the standings. UCF has an identical 8-4 record in C-USA action, but the Blazers defeated the Knights earlier in the season in five sets at Bartow Arena to own the tiebreaker. UAB trails only Rice (9-3) and Tulsa (11-1) in the conference.
Sam Serley continues to lead C-USA in a pair of statistics, topping the league in hitting percentage (.379) and blocks per set (1.33). Not only does Serley lead C-USA in overall statistics in those two categories, but in league games only as well (.381 hitting percentage/1.33 blocks per set).
VOTE FOR SAM
Fans should remember to vote for Sam Serley for the Senior CLASS Award at www.seniorclassaward.com. Serley was one of 10 finalists from across the country selected for this distinguished honor. Voting runs through Nov. 26 and is a portion of the final selection process.
FAIRBANKS EYES RECORD
Rachel Fairbanks has put together a stellar junior season, her first as the libero for the Blazers. Through 28 matches and 109 sets, Fairbanks has recorded 526 digs for an average of 4.83, ranking second in C-USA.
Fairbanks is just the third different Blazer ever to reach 500 digs in a season, joining Heather Thomas and Brianna Galvin. Thomas, who set the single-season digs record last year with 631, surpassed 500 digs three times (2009-11), while Galvin did it in both 2006 and 2007.
SERLEY CLIMBING CHARTS
Sam Serley continues to improve her numbers in the UAB career record book. Entering the weekend, she ranks second in career hitting percentage (.338), third in total blocks (521) and block assists (399) and fourth in solo blocks (122).
HOME SWEET HOME
The Blazers have sported an impressive 8-1 record inside Bartow Arena this season, with the lone loss coming back on Sept. 23 in five sets to the Rice Owls. UAB owns the best winning percentage (.889) at home in C-USA this season and have won six consecutive home contests.
EAST CAROLINA SCOUTING REPORT
The Pirates have struggled throughout the 2012 season, in search of their first C-USA win, entering Friday at 0-12.
On Oct. 21, ECU and UAB met in Greenville, N.C., inside Minges Coliseum, with the Blazers earning the victory, 3-0.
ECU is led by Nicole Willis, who averages a team-best 3.75 kills per game. On the defensive side of the court, libero Shelby Beasley tops the Pirates in digs with 367 (4.37/set). Beasley is one of three players for ECU that has played in all 84 sets this season.
MARSHALL SCOUTING REPORT
Marshall sits in a three-way tie for sixth place with SMU and Houston with a 6-6 record and is 16-10 overall for the year.
UAB and Marshall met in Huntington, W.Va., back on Oct. 19, with the Blazers winning a thrilling five-set match.
Outside hitter Laura Der is the catalyst of the Thundering Herd offense, ranking second in C-USA with 4.32 kills per set and has totaled 449.0 points for the season. Der also ranks in the top 20 in the conference in aces, digs and points per set.
Running the offense for Marshall is setter Sammie Bane, who dishes out 10.62 assists per frame, good for third in the league rankings.
CANCER AWARENESS NIGHT
The UAB volleyball team will host the annual Cancer Awareness Night on Friday against East Carolina.
The first 300 fans will receive FREE "Hal No Fear" t-shirts and FREE "Hal No Fear" bracelets in honor of UAB volleyball assistant coach Hal Messersmith, who is currently battling cancer.
Friday will also serve as Scrub Night, as free admission will be given to all UAB medicine students and employees that wear their scrubs to the match.
All proceeds from the match will benefit the Coach Gene Bartow Fund for Cancer Research. Donations will be accepted at the door.
