UAB Blazers VOLLEYBALL

2015 UAB Volleyball Match Notes

UAB Blazers VOLLEYBALL

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UAB Volleyball Media Contact: Taylor Shirey O: 205-934-0724 E: [email protected] www.uabsports.com

This Week In UAB Volleyball:

UAB Blazers (0-0 overall, 0-0 C-USA)

Lamar Invitational Friday, Aug. 28 - Saturday, Aug. 29 at Lamar

Friday, Aug. 28 vs. Marist @ 1 p.m. CT vs. Lamar @ 7 p.m. CT Saturday, Aug. 29 vs. Texas Southern @ 10 a.m. CT Live Stats: lamarcardinals.com

vs. Marist 2014 Record: 25-6 All-time Series: First Meeting

vs. Lamar 2014 Record: 5-23 All-time Series: 1-4

vs. Texas Southern 2014 Record: 12-18 All-time Series: First Meeting

UAB to Compete in Lamar Invitational to Open 2015 Season

The UAB volleyball team opens the 2015 season on the road at Lamar for the Lamar Invitational. The Blazers will compete in two matches on Friday, Aug. 28. UAB and Marist will square off at 1 p.m., followed by a match with Lamar at 7 p.m. The Blazers will conclude the tournament on Saturday with Texas Southern at 10 a.m.

Time to Bounce Back

Entering the 2015 season, the Blazers are looking to bounce back from a tough 2014 campaign that snap a streak of three consecutive 20-win seasons under head coach Kerry Messersmith. The Blazers finished the season 8-24 overall and 4-12 in Conference USA play.

Returning Talent

The Blazers return right letterwinners, including four starters, from last season’s squad. Digs leader for 2014, Emma Schroer return for 2015. With 281 (2.63/set), 31 assists and 15 service aces to rank second on the team, Schroer is vital at the libero position. Abby Treace and Gabby Deshotel return in 2015. Treace led the Blazers with 784 assists while recording 51 kills, 11 services aces, 136 digs and 46 blocks. Deshotel had a team-best 2.82 killes pet set with 16 games at double figure kills.

A Bevy of Newcomers

There are eight newcomers that have joined the UAB roster for 2015. The group includes three transfers, junior Kassidy Sullivan from Iowa Western Community College, Caitlin Conner from Daytona State and junior Amy Hunter from Albany. The five freshmen are Jillian Tinglin, Autumn Hiett, Sydney Hinds, Emily Martinez and Emily Rudolph.

Conference USA Preseason Buzz

In the preseason poll voted on by coaches, UAB was selected to finish 12th. Defending C-USA champion Western Kentucky was tabbed to finish in the No. 1 spot. while UTSA, Rice, North Texas and Florida Atlantic round out the top five respectively.

First-Time Opponents

The 2015 season sees the Blazers facing off for the first time in program history against five opponents. UAB opens the season with first-time meetings with Marist and Texas Southern at the Lamar Inviitational. The Green and Gold will battle Savannah State in Bartow Arena during the Blazer Classic. The Blazers will battle Gardner-Webb during the Scenic City Showdown hosted by Chattanooga. The final first-time opponent will come at the Hal Messersmith Memorial Tournament when UAB matches up with UMass Lowell.

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2015 UAB Volleyball Schedule Lamar Invitational - Lamar Aug. 28 vs. Marist....................................................1 p.m. vs. Lamar....................................................7 p.m. Aug. 29 vs. Texas Southern..................................... 10 a.m. Sept. 1 at Troy.........................................................6 p.m. Bkazer Classic - UAB Sept. 4 FIU*............................................... 6 p.m. Sept. 5 Savannah State................................9 a.m. Austin Peay......................................4 p.m. Sept. 7 at North Texas*...........................................1 p.m. Scenic City Showdown - Chattanooga Sept. 11 vs. Chattanooga..........................................5 p.m. Sept. 12 vs. Austin Peay............................................9 a.m. vs. Gardner-Webb.................................. 3:30 p.m. Sept. 16 at Middle Tennessee*..................................6 p.m. Hal Messersmith Memorial Tournament - UAB Sept. 18 UMASS Lowell...................................2 p.m. Ole Miss...........................................6 p.m. Sept. 19 Mississippi Valley............................10 a.m. Jacksonville State.............................4 p.m. Sept. 21 Louisiana Monroe...................... 11:30 a.m. Sept. 27 Charlotte*........................................1 p.m. Oct. 2 UTSA*..............................................7 p.m. Oct. 4 Southern Miss*.................................1 p.m. Oct. 9 at Marshall*......................................... 11:30 a.m. Oct. 11 at Louisiana Tech*.......................................1 p.m. Oct. 13 Alabama State..................................7 p.m. Oct. 16 Florida Atlantic*...............................7 p.m. Oct. 23 at Western Kentucky*.................................7 p.m. Oct. 25 at Southern Miss*.......................................1 p.m. Oct. 30 Marshall*.........................................6 p.m. Nov. 1 Middle Tennessee*...........................1 p.m. Nov. 6 at UTEP*......................................................3 p.m. Nov. 8 at UTSA*.....................................................1 p.m. Nov. 10 Alabama State..................................7 p.m. Nov. 14 Rice*................................................1 p.m. Nov. 20-22 Conference USA Tournament...........................TBA Bold denotes home match * Denotes C-USA match All times central; times subject to change

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2015 UAB Volleyball Match Notes

2015 UAB Roster Numerical Roster No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 13 14 15 16 17 22 23 33

Name Caitlin Connor Amber Treace Kassidy Sullivan Amy Hunter Ashlyn Sunseri Emily Rudolph Gabby Deshotel Emma Schroer Baley West Sydney Hinds Victoria Young Gabbi Moreno Sydney Nelson Emily Martinez Zahria Richard Autumn Hiett Jillian Tinglin Haley Jared

Alphabetical Roster No. 1 7 22 11 4 33 16 14 15 17 6 8 3 5 23 2 9 13

Name Caitlin Connor Gabby Deshotel Autumn Hiett Sydney Hinds Amy Hunter Haley Jared Emily Martinez Gabbi Moreno Sydney Nelson Zahria Richard Emily Rudolph Emma Schroer Kassidy Sullivan Ashlyn Sunseri Jillian Tinglin Amber Treace Baley West Victoria Young

Pos. S S MB MB/OH OH MB OH DS/L DS/L DS/L MB S OPP/OH DS/L OH DS/L OH/DS OH/OPP

Ht. 5-8 6-0 6-0 6-2 5-10 6-0 5-11 5-8 5-7 5-2 6-1 5-10 6-1 5-8 5-9 5-10 5-9 5-10

Cl. JR JR JR JR R-JR FR JR R-JR SO FR R-FR SO SR FR R-FR FR FR SO

Hometown/Last School Lakeland, Fla./Daytona State Spanish Fort, Ala./Spanish HS Utica, Neb./Iowa Western CC Tauranga, New Zealand/Albany Gainesville Fla./Tennessee Chesterfield, Mo./Marquette Daphne, Ala./Bayside Academy Ogallala, Neb./Ogallala HS Kennesaw, Ga./Marietta HS Wake Forest, N.C./Heritage Mobile, Ala./McGill-Toolen HS Houston, Texas/Glenda Dawson St. Charles, Mo./Iowa Western CC San Antonio, Texas/Comfort HS South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon HS Pelham, Ala./Pelham HS Montgomery, Ala./Montgomery Academy Hartselle, Ala./Hartselle HS

Pos. S OH DS/L DS/L MB/OH OH/OPP DS/L S OPP/OH OH MB DS/L MB OH OH/DS S DS/L MB

Ht. 5-8 5-11 5-10 5-2 6-2 5-10 5-8 5-10 6-1 5-9 6-0 5-8 6-0 5-10 5-9 6-0 5-7 6-1

Cl. JR JR FR FR JR SO FR SO SR R-FR FR R-JR JR R-JR FR JR SO R-FR

Hometown/Last School Lakeland, Fla./Daytona State Daphne, Ala./Bayside Academy Pelham, Ala./Pelham HS Wake Forest, N.C./Heritage Tauranga, New Zealand/Albany Hartselle, Ala./Hartselle HS San Antonio, Texas/Comfort HS Houston, Texas/Glenda Dawson St. Charles, Mo./Iowa Western CC South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon HS Chesterfield, Mo./Marquette Ogallala, Neb./Ogallala HS Utica, Neb./Iowa Western CC Gainesville Fla./Tennessee Montgomery, Ala./Montgomery Academy Spanish Fort, Ala./Spanish HS Kennesaw, Ga./Marietta HS Mobile, Ala./McGill-Toolen HS

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Kerry Messersmith (10th season, Chadron State ‘86) Associate Head Coach: Ashley Hardee (1st season, East Carolina ‘00) Assistant Coach: Rashinda Reed (1st season, Georgia ‘02) Athletic Trainer: John Pellerin Manager: Collin Nichol

Pronunciation Guide Gabby Deshotel (De-SHO-tle) Gabbi Moreno (Mo-RAY-no) Zahria Richard (Za-RIA Ri-SHARD) Emma Schroer (Sh-WORE) Amber Treace (Treece)

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2015 UAB Volleyball Match Notes Conference USA Standings School Charlotte FIU Florida Atlantic Louisiana Tech Marshall Middle Tennessee North Texas Rice Southern Miss UAB UTEP UTSA WKU

C-USA Overall 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

Honors and Awards

Quick Hits Series History UAB has played only one of its three opponents from this weekend’s tournament. The Blazers have met Lamar five times in school history. Lamar leads the series four games to one. UAB will face Marist and Texas Southern for the first time in school history over the weekend. Scouting the Opposition Marist Marist finished the 2014 strong with a 25-6 record overall and a 15-3 MAAC record. The Red Foxes fall one game shy of the MAAC Tournament Championship as they fell to Siena in the finals. Marist is led by senior captians Kelsey Lahey and Courtney Shaw. Lahey set the 10th most attacks in a single season in 2014 with 965. Shaw earned First Team All-MAAC, MAAC All-Championship Team and MAAC All-Academic Team honors in 2014. Lamar Lamar finished 5-23 overall with all five wins coming in conference play as the Cardinals finished 5-11 in the Southland. Lamar returns 12 letterwinners from 2014 including six starters. Standouts Chelsea Grant and Cortney Moore return for the Cardinals. Grant boasts a 2.30 kills per set and a 1.28 blocks pet set. Moore tallied as impressive stats with 3.37 kills per set and a .331 kills percentage. Texas Southern Texas Southern closed the 2014 season with a 12-14 record. TSU was the top-seed out of the SWAC West division, but was eliminated in the first round of competition. Kail Fluke, reigning Co-Player of the Year, returns for TSU. Fluke started 21 of 24 matches while producing 237 kills, 36 digs, 69 total blocks and 287.5 points. Fluke led the Lady Tigers in hitting percentage on the season.

2015 Double-Doubles

Player 2015

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2015 UAB Volleyball Match Notes

UAB Volleyball Quick Facts General Information

Location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Birmingham, Ala. Founded. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1969 Enrollment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,568 President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ray L. Watts, M.D. Athletics Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark Ingram Faculty Athletics Rep. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Frank Messina Nickname . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blazers Mascot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blaze Colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Forest Green & Old Gold Home Arena. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bartow Arena (8,500) Affiliation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NCAA Division I Conference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conference USA (C-USA) Athletic Dept. Phone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (205) 975-8221 Ticket Office Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (205) 975-8221 Website. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.uabsports.com

Athletic Media Relations

Associate AD for Media Relations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Norm Reilly Assistant Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brandon Lee Assistant Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TBA Assistant Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TBA Media Relations Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . Taylor Shirey (Volleyball Contact) Taylor’s Work Phone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (205) 934-0724 Taylor’s Cell Phone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (256) 899-6482 Taylor’s E-mail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected] Media Relations Phone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (205) 934-0722 Media Relations Fax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (205) 934-7505 Mailing Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UAB Media Relations 105 Bartow Arena - West Tower 1720 2nd Ave South Birmingham, AL 35294-0113

Volleyball Information

Head Coach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kerry Messersmith Alma Matter/Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chadron State/1986 Record at UAB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180-124 (10th season) Career Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654-376 (27th season) Associate Head Coach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ashley Hardee Alma Matter/Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . East Carolina/2000 Season at UAB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Second Assistant Coach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rashinda Reed Alma Matter/Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Georgia/2005 Season at UAB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . First

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History

First Year of Volleyball. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1978 All-Time Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662-676 (37 years) NCAA Apearances/Last. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/2008

Team Information

2014 Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-24 2014 C-USA Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12 2014 C-USA Finish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .T-10th 2014 Postseason. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N/A Letterwinners Returning/Lost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/5 Starters Returning/Lost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 (Liberio)/3 Newcomers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Returning Players

#2 Amber Treace. . . . . . . . . . . 94 sp, 784 a, 8.34 a/s, 136 digs, 46 blk, 51 k #5 Ashlyn Sunseri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 sp, 27 digs #7 Gabby Deshotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 sp, 319 k, 2.28 k/s, 91 digs, 45 blk #8 Emily Schroer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 sp, 281 digs, 2.63 d/s, 15 sa #9 Baley West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 sp, 51 digs, 10 a #14 Gabbi Moreno. . . . . . . . . . 69 sp, 331 a, 4.80 a/s, 93 digs, 13 blk, 17 k #33 Haley Jared. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 sp, 17 k, 73 digs

Key Losses

Bethanie Thomas (OH) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 sp, 237 k, 270 digs, 46 blks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Conference USA All-Academic Team Sara Rishell (MB). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 sp, 263 k, 2.29 k/s, 112 blk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Second Team All-Conference USA Leslie Ekpe (MB). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 sp, 122 k, 74 blk Kiriana Hirini (MB). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 sp, 107 k, 59 blk

Newcomers

Caitlin Connor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lakeland, Fla./Daytona State Autumn Hiett. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pelham, Ala./Pelhem HS Sydney Hinds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wake Forest, N.C./Heritage HS Amy Hunter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taurnaga, New Zealand/Albany Emily Matinez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Antonio, Texas/Comfort HS Emily Rudolph. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chesterfield, Mo./Marquette Kassidy Sullivan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Utica, Neb./Iowa Western CC Jillian Tinglin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery, Ala./Montgomery Academy

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2015 UAB Volleyball Match Notes

Head Coach

Kerry Messersmith Tenth Season (180-124) | Chadron ‘86 Career Record: 654-376 (27 Seasons) Entering her 10th season at the helm of the UAB program, Kerry Messersmith has showcased continued success in leading the Blazers, evident by four 23-plus win seasons and a streak of seven straight seasons finishing .500 or better in Conference USA action. Messersmith will look to return the Blazers their usual success after a tough 2014 season, which saw a young UAB team finish 8-24 overall and 2-14 in C-USA. The highlight came from Sara Rishell, who competed with the US Collegiate National Team in the summer before earning All-C-USA Second Team honors. The 2013 season saw continued sucess for the UAB volleyball program under Messersmith. She guided the team to an overall record of 21-14 and a 7-7 mark in Conference USA, marking the third consecutive season of 20 or more wins for the Blazers. During that season, four players were selected to the All-C-USA team and Rachel Fairbanks was named C-USA Libero of the Year with Messersmith’s guidance. It was the first Libero of the Year award for any UAB player. Messersmith guided UAB to its second consecutive 20-win season with an overall record of 2014 in 2012. The Blazers finished third in the conference with an 11-5 record in C-USA play. Under her tuteledge, All-American Sam Serley set a UAB single season record in blocks and led the conference in hitting percentage. In 2011, the Blazers were yet again one of the top programs in the league, finishing second in the standings at 23-9 overall and 13-7 against C-USA foes as Messersmith earned the C-USA Co-Coach of the Year award for the first time leading the Blazers. The 13 victories in conference action tied Messersmith’s 2008 squad for the most in program history and the Green and Gold also recorded a 13-match win streak last season, the second longest in UAB lore. Messersmith reached a legendary milestone during the 2011 campaign, earning her 600th career coaching victory when UAB defeated Rice, 3-1, on October 23 at Bartow Arena. Entering her 25th season on the sidelines, Messersmith boasts a career record of 605-324 (.651). In the two seasons prior to Messersmith’s arrival in 2006, the Blazers were a combined 15-37, including a 1-24 campaign in 2004. The program had never won a Conference USA Championship and had never earned a berth in the NCAA tournament. In the six seasons since she set foot in Birmingham, UAB has made three appearances in the C-USA Championship finals, competed in two NCAA tournaments and posted an overall record of 131-72 (67-37 C-USA). Messersmith’s .645 winning percentage at the school is the highest in program history. The Blazers posted two AVCA All-Midwest Region selections in Sam Serley (first team) and Heather Thomas (honorable mention) during the 2011 campaign. Serley and Thomas were also recognized by the conference, earning first and second team honors, respectively. In addition, six times a player won C-USA Player of the Week accolades, five coming on defense. Messersmith has guided numerous players to notch a spot in several statistics in the UAB record book. Most recently, Thomas, a 2012 graduate, set both the single season (631) and career (2,131) records for digs and finished fourth all-time in C-USA last season. Her inaugural UAB squad made an immediate breakthrough in 2006, winning the program’s first C-USA Championship and advancing to its first NCAA tournament. The team’s 27 wins were the most by a Blazer squad since 1991. Messersmith earned her 500th career win in the 2006 conference tournament semifinals, and another victory the next day sealed an NCAA trip. The Blazers lost in the first round to fourthranked UCLA, but they would be back. Following a 24-win campaign in 2007 and a conference tournament runner-up finish that left the team just shy of another postseason berth, UAB posted its best season ever in 2008. At 27-8, the 2008 UAB squad set a program record for winning percentage (.771) and won a school-record 16 straight matches. The Blazers finished second in the C-USA standings at 13-3 and advanced to the league tournament finals for the third consecutive year under Messersmith, losing a hard-fought five-setter to top-seeded Tulane.

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But UAB was rewarded for its strong regular season with an NCAA tournament at-large berth and a trip to Lincoln, Neb. The Blazers swept Missouri State, 3-0, on Dec. 5 for the first NCAA tourney win in program history before falling in the second round to No. 4 overall seed Nebraska on the Huskers’ home floor at the historic NU Coliseum. UAB finished the year at No. 22 in the final RPI. The 2008 team was led by a pair of AVCA honorable mention All-Americans in Ivana Bozic (for the second time) and Nevena Stefanov, who was also the C-USA Setter of the Year. Three seasons later in 2011, Sam Serley (another two-time selection) became Messersmith’s fifth Blazer All-American, while the coach has also tutored eight all-region selections and 11 all-conference players at UAB. Serley (2010) and current assistant coach Casey Dent (three times; 2006-2008) also earned Academic All-District honors under Messersmith’s guidance. In 2009, Messersmith coached C-USA Newcomer of the Year Michelle Uzoh and All-Freshman team member Serley, who went on to earn second-team all-league honors in 2010. Messersmith led UAB to another winning season in 2009 with a 17-16 overall record and a 9-7 mark in league play. Her 2010 team went 13-19 but closed with wins in its final five matches and eight of its last 11 to post a 10-10 league mark and finish in the top half of the C-USA standings for the fifth consecutive season, every year of her tenure. UAB’s 13-7 mark in league in 2011 extended that streak to six straight years. Her achievements at UAB are the latest in a long line of coaching successes and program turnarounds. Messersmith owns an overall coaching record of 605-324 (.651), and she took over at UAB with a proven track record of resurrecting collegiate volleyball programs. Coming to the Blazers from Georgia Southern in December of 2005, Messersmith was the Eagles’ all-time winningest coach in her tenure at the Statesboro, Ga., school. She turned around a program that was 15-45 in the two seasons prior to her arrival in 2001. The Casper, Wyo., native compiled an overall record of 116-52 at GSU and was 75-17 in Southern Conference matches. Under Messersmith, the Eagles finished 21-11 and were 14-6 in SoCon play in 2001, her first season at GSU. That effort came only a year after Georgia Southern was 11-19 overall and just 5-15 in league action. For the 2002 and 2003 seasons, the Eagles were a combined 53-18 overall and 35-3 in conference matches. GSU won Southern Conference tournament titles and earned NCAA tournament berths in 2001 and 2003, while also capturing the league’s regular season title in both 2002 and 2003. Messersmith, who earned Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors during her time at GSU, coached four players to eight first-team all-conference accolades in her five seasons with the Eagles. Four other GSU players earned second-team all-league honors during her tenure. Her success at Georgia Southern was just another example of a program demonstrating a dramatic turnaround under her leadership. In fact, in her 23-year career as a head coach, she has guided six teams to substantial resurgences. Prior to taking over the Eagles’ program at GSU, Messersmith spent four seasons at Arizona Western College, where she took a program that won just four matches the season before she arrived to an eighth-place finish at the NJCAA National Tournament four years later in 2000. The Matadors finished 15-23 during her first season but then improved to 33-19 in 1998. The success would continue over the next two seasons as Arizona Western finished 38-13 in 1999 and 43-10 in Messersmith’s final year there. Before her stint at Arizona Western, Messersmith coached for two years at her alma mater, Chadron State. She guided the school to a combined record of 46-29 over the 1994 and 1995 seasons. Messersmith also helped lead huge turnarounds as head coach at Allen County (Kan.) Community College, Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College and Pittsburg State University. Her coaching career began at Allen County CC in 1987. During her two seasons there, she compiled a mark of 61-23 and led the program to its first conference championship. Messersmith is a 1986 graduate of Chadron State, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in education. Messersmith and her late husband, Hal, have two daughters, Meghan and Brynnley, and reside in Vestavia Hills, Ala.

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2015 UAB Volleyball Match Notes

Career Records Kills 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Mellissa Cobb . . . . . . . . . . . 2,029 (1988-91) Tonya Larson. . . . . . . . . . . . 1,982 (1994-97) Ivana Bozic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,874 (2005-08) Danielle Reaves. . . . . . . . . . 1,616 (1988-91) Julie Myers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,463 (1986-89) Wendy Huber . . . . . . . . . . . 1,450 (1990-93) Martina Shields. . . . . . . . . . 1,427 (2000-03) Hilary Beck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,420 (1988-92) Casey Dent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,284 (2005-08) Sam Serley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,245 (2009-12)

Total Attempts 1. Tonya Larson. . . . . . . . . . . . 5,060 (1994-97) 2. Ivana Bozic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,954 (2005-08) 3. Mellissa Cobb . . . . . . . . . . . 4,705 (1988-91) 4. Danielle Reaves. . . . . . . . . . 4,021 (1988-91) 5. Martina Shields. . . . . . . . . . 3,756 (2000-03) 6. Julie Myers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,600 (1986-89) 7. Wendy Huber . . . . . . . . . . . 3,480 (1990-93) 8. Hilary Beck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,316 (1988-92) 9. Trisha Eddy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,145 (1995-98) 10. Toni Herron . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,075 (1991-94) Attack Percentage (Minimum 1,000 attempts) 1. Tammy Robertson. . . . . . . .389 (1989-92) 2. Sam Serley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .340 (2009-12) 3. Casey Dent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333 (2005-08) 4. Danielle Reaves. . . . . . . . . . .308 (1988-91) 5. Lilly Domingos . . . . . . . . . . .305 (2007-08) 6. Mellissa Cobb . . . . . . . . . . . .279 (1988-91) 7. Hilary Beck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275 (1988-92) 8. Tonya Larson. . . . . . . . . . . . .259 (1994-97) 9. Kirsten Gallagher . . . . . . . . . .247 (2009-12) 10. Shondra Bonovitch. . . . . . . .243 (1984-87) Assists 1. Tammy Robertson. . . . . . . 6,650 (1989-92) 2. Nevena Stefanov. . . . . . . . . 5,839 (2005-08) 3. Abby Thatcher. . . . . . . . . . . 4,872 (1995-98) 4. Alison Woods. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,707 (2009-12) 5. Jill Gilmour. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,948 (1987-88) 6. Heather Dillard. . . . . . . . . . 2,785 (1993-94) 7. Patti Schroder. . . . . . . . . . . 2,480 (1985-86) 8. Becca Howard. . . . . . . . . . . 2,411 (2010-13) 9. Bree Barnard. . . . . . . . . . . . 2,375 (1992-95) 10. Heather Dempsey. . . . . . . . 2,284 (1997-00)

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Service Aces 1. Mellissa Cobb . . . . . . . . . . . . 388 (1988-91) 2. Julie Myers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 (1986-89) 3. Danielle Reaves. . . . . . . . . . . 225 (1988-91) 4. Tammy Robertson. . . . . . . . . 224 (1989-92) 5. Wendy Huber . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 (1990-93) 6. Tonya Larson. . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 (1994-97) 7. Ginny Alexander. . . . . . . . . . 206 (1983-85) 8. Ivana Bozic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 (2005-08) 9. Suzie Johnson. . . . . . . . . . . . 195 (1989-92) Ashley Sargent . . . . . . . . . . . 195 (1983-86) Block Solos 1. Julie Myers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 (1986-89) 2. Hilary Beck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 (1988-92) Sam Serley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 (2009-12) 4. Hailey Isham. . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 (1995-98) 5. Shondra Bonovitch. . . . . . . . 108 (1984-87) 6. Jennifer Johnson. . . . . . . . . . 103 (1986-88) 7. Terri Steeb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 (1995-98) 8. Toni Herron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 (1991-94) 9. Michele Moses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 (1983-85) 10. Karen Boyd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 (2000-03) Ginny Alexander. . . . . . . . . . . . 53 (1983-85)

10. Karen Boyd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327 (2000-03) Digs 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Heather Thomas. . . . . . . . . 2,131 (2008-11) Danielle Reaves. . . . . . . . . . 1,651 (1988-91) Brianna Galvin. . . . . . . . . . . 1,650 (2005-07) Mellissa Cobb . . . . . . . . . . . 1,533 (1988-91) Julie Myers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,413 (1986-89) Ivana Bozic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,394 (2005-08) Aleksandra Vujovic. . . . . . . 1,381 (2005-08) Rachel Fairbanks. . . . . . . . . 1,372 (2010-13) Tammy Robertson. . . . . . . 1,334 (1989-92) Wendy Huber . . . . . . . . . . . 1,263 (1990-93)

Games/Sets Played 1. Danielle Reaves. . . . . . . . . . . 630 (1988-91) 2. Mellissa Cobb . . . . . . . . . . . . 622 (1988-91) 3. Tammy Robertson. . . . . . . . . 621 (1989-92) 4. Julie Myers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595 (1986-89) 5. Hilary Beck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573 (1988-92) 6. Wendy Huber . . . . . . . . . . . . 566 (1990-93) 7. Tonya Larson. . . . . . . . . . . . . 550 (1994-97) 8. Ashley Sargent . . . . . . . . . . . 544 (1983-86) 9. Suzie Johnson. . . . . . . . . . . . 540 (1989-92) 10. Gina Doss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538 (1984-87)

Block Assists 1. Sam Serley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428 (2009-12) 2. Hailey Isham. . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 (1995-98) Hilary Beck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 (1988-92) 4. Terri Steeb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352 (1995-98) 5. Wendy Huber . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 (1990-93) 6. Shaniquwa Cooper. . . . . . . . 307 (2004-07) 7. Karen Boyd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 (2000-03) Kim Arnold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 (1991-95) 9. Toni Herron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 (1991-94) 10. Casey Dent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 (2005-08) Total Blocks 1. Sam Serley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564 (2009-12) 2. Hilary Beck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547 (1988-92) 3. Hailey Isham. . . . . . . . . . . . . 535 (1995-98) 4. Terri Steeb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452 (1995-98) 5. Julie Myers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388 (1986-89) 6. Shondra Bonovitch. . . . . . . . 356 (1984-87) 7. Toni Herron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352 (1991-94) 8. Shaniquwa Cooper. . . . . . . . 347 (2004-07) 9. Wendy Huber . . . . . . . . . . . . 336 (1990-93)

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2015 UAB Volleyball Match Notes

UAB & Opponent Highs 2015 UAB Individual Season Highs

Statistic (# of sets)..................................Number, Player vs/at Opponent (date) Kills (3-set)................................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Attacks (3-set).............................................................................................. (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Hitting Pct. (3-set, min. 9 att.)............................................................................. (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Assists (3-set)............................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Solo Blocks (3-set)....................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Block Assists (3-set).................................................................................... (4-set) .................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Total Blocks (3-set)...................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Digs (3-set)................................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Aces (3-set)................................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set)....................................................................................................

2015 Opponent Individual Season Highs

Statistic (# of sets)......................................... Number, Player (Opponent,Date) Kills (3-set)................................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Attacks (3-set).............................................................................................. (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Hitting Pct. (3-set, min. 9 att.)..................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Assists (3-set)............................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Solo Blocks (3-set)....................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Block Assists (3-set).................................................................................... (4-set) .................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Total Blocks (3-set)...................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Digs (3-set)................................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Aces (3-set)................................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set)....................................................................................................

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2015 UAB Team Season Highs

Statistic (# of sets)............................................ Number vs/at Opponent (date) Kills (3-set)................................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Attacks (3-set).............................................................................................. (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Hitting Pct. (3-set, min. 9 att.)................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Assists (3-set)............................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Solo Blocks (3-set)....................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Block Assists (3-set).................................................................................... (4-set) .................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Total Blocks (3-set)...................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Digs (3-set)................................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Aces (3-set)................................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set)....................................................................................................

2015 Opponent Season Highs

Statistic (# of sets).................................................... Number (opponent/date) Kills (3-set)................................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Attacks (3-set).............................................................................................. (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Hitting Pct. (3-set, min. 9 att.)................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Assists (3-set)............................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Solo Blocks (3-set)....................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Block Assists (3-set).................................................................................... (4-set) .................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Total Blocks (3-set)...................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Digs (3-set)................................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set).................................................................................................... Aces (3-set)................................................................................................... (4-set).................................................................................................... (5-set)....................................................................................................

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2015 UAB Volleyball Match Notes

2015 Match-by-Match Leaders OPPONENT Marist Lamar Texas Southern troy FIU Savannah State Austin Peay North Texas Chattanooga Austin Peay Gardner-Webb Middle Tennessee UMass Lowell Ole Miss Mississippi Valley Jacksonville State Louisiana Monroe Charlotte UTSA Southern Miss Marshall Louisiana Tech Alabama A&M Florida Atlantic WKU Southern Miss Marshall Middle Tennessee UTEP UTSA Alabama State Rice

KILLS

ATTEMPTS

ASSISTS

ACES

DIGS

TOTAL BLOCKS

Times Led (Includes Ties) Kills

Attempts

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Assists

Aces

Digs

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Total Blocks

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