The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Volleyball Signs NJCAA All-American Domingos
12/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 7, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Eliane Domingos, the NJCAA Division II leader in blocks per game for each of the last two seasons, has signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to join the UAB volleyball team next season as announced by UAB head coach Kerry Messersmith on Thursday.
Eliane is the younger sister of current Blazer standout Fernanda Domingos.
"We couldn't be more excited to have Eliane joining our UAB volleyball family," Messersmith said. "I think it will be good for both Eliane and Fernanda to be close to one another again. They are two very close sisters and this will be the perfect family atmosphere for them - we hope they have the same success playing together here as they did at Cowley College."
Eliane, a 6-foot-3 middle blocker for Joanna Pryor at Cowley (Kan.) College the last two seasons, averaged 2.85 blocks per game this season for the Tigers and will aid the Blazers in that category after UAB ranked 11th in Conference USA this season with a mark of 1.83.
"Eliane has proven herself to be a very strong player during her two years at Cowley College," Messersmith said. "At 6-3 she has a presence at the net and will definitely help our blocking next season. I think we became a much better blocking team late in the year this past season and Eliane will make us that much better next year."
The younger Domingos was recently named first-team All-America after being named to the second team during her freshman campaign in 2005. In addition, the Franca, Brazil native was named the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division Player of the Year and was a first-team all-conference selection.
In addition to her highly regarded blocking ability, Eliane also ranked amongst the nations best in serving, as she posted 92 aces to rank eighth in the country this season.
In 2005, Eliane was named second-team All-America, while taking home Jayhawk Conference Freshman of the Year honors in addition to being named first-team all-conference and all-district.
Eliane's older sister Fernanda was named the 2006 Conference USA Newcomer of the Year after transferring to UAB from Cowley College where the two sisters teamed up to lead the Tigers to a runner-up finish at the NJCAA Division II National Championship in 2005.
The Domingos sisters are the only two-time All-Americans in Cowley College history.
