The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Volleyball Season Wrap-Up
1/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Jan. 9, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The 2008 volleyball season was a record-setting one for UAB. From RPI rankings and winning percentage to tournament victories and multiple All-American honors, the Blazers accomplished things no other UAB volleyball team had ever accomplished.
Under the guidance of head coach Kerry Messersmith, a group of five seniors led the team to a 27-8 overall record, a second-place finish in Conference USA and a trip to the NCAA tournament. A postseason victory and a final RPI ranking of No. 22 sealed UAB's position among the top teams in the country.
Here's a look back at the Blazers' historic 2008 season:
TEAM HIGHLIGHTS
• Posted the highest winning percentage in program history (.771).
• Finished with 27 victories for the team's third straight 20-win season.
• Recorded the best Conference USA record (13-3) and Conference USA regular season finish (second) in program history.
• Advanced to the Conference USA Championship finals for the third consecutive season.
• Earned the program's first at-large berth into the NCAA Championship and made a second postseason appearance in three years.
• Won the first NCAA tournament match in program history with a 3-0 sweep of Missouri State on Dec. 5.
• Received votes for nine weeks in the Bison/AVCA Coaches Poll.
• Ended the season rated No. 22 in the final RPI -- the highest finish in program history.
• Posted a school-record 16-match winning streak in the middle of the season (Sept. 19-Nov. 2), breaking the previous record of 13 set in 2006.
INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
Ivana Bozic
• AVCA Honorable Mention All-American
• AVCA All-Midwest Region First Team
• All-Conference USA First Team
• Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU.com) National Player of the Week (Oct. 21)
• Three-time Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 6, Oct. 20 and Nov. 3)
• Ranked in the top 10 in Conference USA in two categories -- kills per set (3.36, sixth) and digs per set (3.43, ninth).
• Ended her career ranked in the top 10 of four categories in the UAB career record book -- total attempts (4,954, second), kills (1,874, third), digs (1,394, fifth) and hitting percentage (.235, ninth).
• Became the ninth player in UAB history to reach both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career.
Casey Dent
• ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV First Team
• AVCA All-Midwest Region Honorable Mention
• All-Conference USA First Team
• Academic All-Conference USA
• Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 29)
• Finished third in Conference USA and 29th nationally with a .365 hitting percentage -- the fourth highest single-season percentage in UAB history.
• Ended her career ranked in the top 10 of two categories in the UAB career record book -- hitting percentage (.333, second) and kills (1,284, ninth).
Lilly Domingos
• All-Conference USA Second Team
• Conference USA All-Tournament Team
• Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 13)
• Ranked fifth in Conference USA with 1.02 blocks per set.
Nevena Stefanov
• AVCA Honorable Mention All-American
• AVCA All-Midwest Region First Team
• Conference USA Setter of the Year
• All-Conference USA First Team
• Conference USA All-Tournament Team
• Two-time Conference USA Setter of the Week (Sept. 15 and Oct. 13)
• Ranked second in Conference USA and 21st nationally with 11.11 assists per set.
• Posted 1,467 assists -- the eighth-best single-season total in UAB history.
• Finished her career ranked second on UAB's all-time list and fourth in Conference USA history with 5,839 career assists.
Aleksandra Vujovic
• Ranked 10th in Conference USA with 3.37 digs per set.
• Finished her career ranked sixth on the all-time UAB list with 1,381 digs.
