DeBell Named Conference USA First Team

DALLAS – Marshall volleyball graduate student Ciara DeBell was named a Conference USA First Team selection, the league office announced on Thursday. It is DeBell's fourth all-conference honor and third first-team selection.

"What a huge accomplishment for Ciara, being selected couldn't have gone to a more deserving student-athlete," Herd head coach Ari Aganus said. "I am so proud of her not only this season but for her career here at Marshall. Making the first team for such an amazing conference is not an easy task. She has the respect of the other coaches in this conference and that speaks volumes for what she's done here.

"Her legacy will live on and I'm just so proud to have been a small part of her journey."

In 2021, DeBell led the Herd in kills with 344 and an average of 3.34 per set. She put up double-digit kills in 19 matches and had 20 or more twice. DeBell started the season with 10 or more in the first six matches and ended the year hitting double-figures in the last seven contests. She came through with a season-best 21 kills in her last game of the season against FIU. Several times throughout the year, when the Herd needed an offensive threat to explode and get the team back into a match, they turned to DeBell and the outside hitter came through.

Along with her offensive prowess at the net, DeBell finished second in digs with a career-high of 295 and 2.86 per set. The Ocala, Fla., native had double-digit digs in 14 matches and 20 or more twice. DeBell piled up the double-doubles this season with 13, including beginning the season with six-straight. She was the first Herd player to string together at least six matches of double-doubles since Laura Der in 2012. With DeBell compiling so many digs throughout the season, she joined an exclusive club with 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career. DeBell had already recorded her 1,000th career kill during the spring 2021 season, and then reached the milestone for digs on Oct. 23 at Charlotte. She became just the 35th active player in the NCAA hitting 1,000 in both career categories.

DeBell's all-around abilities did not stop there as she also came through at the net on defense with 47 total blocks, good for fifth on the squad. DeBell was also usually the target of the opposition's serve and she stood tall there as well with only 27 reception errors on 753 total attempts, good for a .964 receiving percentage. During the two matches against Old Dominion, she was 103-of-105 on receptions including going 48-for-48 in game two.

Ciara "The Shark" DeBell transferred to Marshall after spending two seasons at Florida Gulf Coast, getting a medical redshirt from her sophomore year when she only played in 17 sets due to injury. Once she made the move to Huntington, DeBell has put together a Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame career. The four-time All-C-USA selection can be found throughout the record book, and she started her assault on the charts right from the beginning.

In just her fourth match with the Green & White, DeBell tallied a career-best 32 kills in a win over Morehead State, the seventh-best total in team history. Later in 2018, she set the mark for the most attacks in a single match with 88 at Rice. By the end of the season, DeBell had tallied 437 kills and an average of 4.24 per set good for the sixth-best in a single season in team history, and was named Second Team All-Conference USA. In 2019, she had another top-10 kills per set average with 4.18 while earning her first C-USA First Team selection.

In her Marshall career, DeBell ranks second all-time in career attacks (4,077) and kills per set 3.86, trailing only four-time All-American and Marshall Athletics Hall of Famer Kelly-Anne Billingy in both categories. She ended her time third in kills with 1,404. DeBell also tallied 40 career double-doubles, all coming while playing in a Marshall uniform. With the Herd, DeBell also recorded 958 digs, 197 total blocks and 64 service aces.

Over her entire playing career, DeBell played in 411 sets over 120 matches with 1,490 kills, 4,359 total attacks, 1,027 digs, 210 total blocks, 71 service aces, and was responsible for 1,687.5 career points.

Along with being named All-C-USA four times, DeBell also picked up other accolades along the way. She is a two-time AVCA All-South Region honoree, a five-time Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week and earned a tryout with Team USA's National Collegiate squad in 2020.

Player of the Year
Lauren Matthews, WKU

Setter of the Year
Carly Graham, Rice

Defensive Player of the Year
Lauren Matthews, WKU

Libero of the Year
Marley Banton, Middle Tennessee

Freshman of the Year
Giada Bianchi, FIU

Coach of the Year
Travis Hudson, WKU

All-Conference USA First Team
Sydney Rowan, Charlotte
Giada Bianchi, FIU
Ciara DeBell, Marshall
Rhett Robinson, North Texas
Anota Adekunle, Rice
Carly Graham, Rice
Nicole Lennon, Rice
Fernanda Maida, UAB
Serena Patterson, UTEP
Paige Briggs, WKU
Nadia Dieudonne, WKU
Lauren Matthews, WKU

All-Conference USA Second Team
Emani' Foster, Charlotte
Amani McArther, Charlotte
McKenzie Johnson, Louisiana Tech
Marley Banton, Middle Tennessee
Samira Lawson Body, Middle Tennessee
Sarah Haeussler, North Texas
Alessia Sgherza, Old Dominion
Ellie Bichelmeyer, Rice
Mia Wesley, Southern Miss
Alex Kells, UAB
Alianza Darley, UTEP
Katie Isenbarger, WKU
Kayland Jackson, WKU

C-USA All-Freshman Team
Giada Bianchi, FIU
Katelyn Robine, Florida Atlantic
McKenzie Johnson, Louisiana Tech
Andrea Owens, North Texas
Myah Conway, Old Dominion
Shaylee Shore, Rice
Ema Uskokovic, UTEP
Katie Howard, WKU

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Marshall University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Ciara DeBell

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