The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Serley Named to All-Conference USA Preseason Squad
8/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 11, 2011
IRVING, Texas – Junior Sam Serley was named to the 2011 All-Conference USA Preseason volleyball team announced by the league office on Thursday afternoon. Serley is one of 12 players recognized on the preseason squad.
Last season, Serley, a middle blocker, was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), becoming only the third UAB player ever to be named an All-American honorable mention selection. She also garnered AVCA All-Region honors and was a second team all-conference member.
“It’s very well deserved for Sam; she is one of stronger players in the conference coming back,” head coach Kerry Messersmith said. “She’s capable of being a huge asset to us this year.”
Last season, Serley finished third in the conference in blocks with 128 (1.08 per set), which included 36 solo blocks; the most by a Blazers’ player since 1995. The native of Nashville, Tenn., topped the squad in kills (333) and attacking percentage (.318), which ranked ninth in the league and was the ninth best single-season hitting clip in program history.
Also released on Thursday was the C-USA Preseason Coaches Poll, with the Blazers picked to finish seventh out of 12 teams.
“We don’t look at the preseason poll meaning a whole lot,” Messersmith said. “We certainly feel we are a much stronger team this year than last year or even the year before that. Our first year here we were picked to finish ninth and ended up winning the conference tournament and going to the NCAA tournament.”
UAB returns 10 student-athletes from last season’s squad, with key players Serley, Ally Slaughter, Heather Thomas and Alison Woods back to build on a team that won eight of its final 11 league matches. Slaughter earned C-USA All-Freshman Team accolades a year ago and Thomas, the libero, sits only 152 digs shy of setting the school record.
In 2010 the Blazers finished an even 10-10 in league play and 13-19 overall. Messersmith, who enters her sixth year guiding the UAB volleyball program, has finished .500-or-better in each of her first five seasons in C-USA play. In four of the last five seasons, the Green and Gold have reached double-digit win totals in league competition.
“In the end it (the preseason poll) doesn’t make a lick of difference to us,” Messersmith said. “We are in it to win it and we believe we have the kids to do it.”
UAB opens the season on Aug. 26 vs. Akron at the Pete Hanna Center on Samford University’s campus. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
2011 All-Conference USA Preseason Team
Houston: Lucy Charuk (MB), Chandace Tryon (MB)
Memphis: Altrese Hawkins (OH)
Rice: Nancy Cole (MB)
SMU: Courtney Manning (MB), Dana Powell (OH)
Southern Miss: Ashley Mell (OH), Kelsea Seymour (S)
Tulane: Izabela Grot (RS/OH)
Tulsa: Jessica Adams (DS/L), Tyler Henderson (OH)*
UAB: Sam Serley (MB)
* C-USA Preseason Player of the Year
