Volleyball Match Notes: Auburn & Tennessee
10/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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TIDE TAKES ROAD TO FACE AUBURN & TENNESSEE
The UA volleyball team hits the road for a pair of key SEC road contests this week as the Tide visits archrival Auburn on Tuesday and then travels to Knoxville to face Tennessee on Friday night as an appetizer for Saturday's Alabama-Tennessee football clash. Fans can follow the UT match live on the internet by logging on to www.utladyvols.com and selecting the live stats link from the volleyball homepage.
INSIDE THE SERIES...
The Tide owns a slight 27-25 edge over rival Auburn in the all-time series. Bama has won the last four meetings, but prior to that the Tigers had captured 10 in a row... Alabama trails 6-18 in their all-time match-ups with Tennessee. UA posted a win last year in Knoxville to snap a 7-match losing skid to the Lady Vols.
SCOUTING REPORT
Auburn... The Tigers are 1-19 (0-8 SEC) and have lost their last 14 matches. AU has won just 6 total games and have only one game victory in their current losing streak.
Tennessee... The Lady Vols enter the weekend at 15-6 overall (4-4 SEC) and riding a three match win streak. UT has won 5 of 6 contests with four of them going 5 games.
RUNNIN' DOWN THE DREAM
With Alabama having reached the 500-win plateau (vs Miss. State) as a team, attention is now turned to UA coach Judy Green and her quest to earn her 500th career coaching victory. Green (who began her coaching career with a successful decade at Montevallo) has 499 total "Ws" and is just 1 win from reaching the 500 mark. (see charts p. 2) Green also reached a milestone with Bama's victory over Ole Miss on Oct. 4 as it marked the 100th in her seven-year Tide tenure (currently 103-112 all-time at UA).
MILESTONE WEEKEND
This past weekend a pair of Alabama sophomores reached some impressive statistical milestones. In the Tide's loss to Carolina, setter Kenna Milner became just the 7th setter in Bama history to record 1,000 asssists in her career. Against Kentucky, outside hitter Erin Heffner pounded out a career-high 27 kills to climb into 10th-place on UA's career kill list with 762 in just her second season.
THREES A CHARM
The Tide owns an impressive 17-5 record this season in Game 3 of matches. Alabama was won 10 of its last 12 game threes with both losses versus South Carolina.
TIDE VERSUS THE SEC WEST
Alabama owns a 103-83 all-time mark against all of the teams in the SEC Western Division. Here's the breakdown of the Tide against the SEC West:
Arkansas: 2-16 Ole Miss: 31-12
Auburn: 27-25 Miss State: 27-12
LSU: 16-18
BAMA AGAINST THE SEC EAST
Alabama owns a 43-74 all-time mark against the all of the teams in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division. Here's the breakdown of the Tide against the SEC East —
Florida: 5-18 South Carolina: 10-10
Georgia: 16-12 Tennessee: 6-18
Kentucky: 5-15
ALABAMA V'BALL EARNS 500th VICTORY
On October 6th, the Crimson Tide defeated Mississippi State 3-1 marking the 500th win in Alabama volleyball history. Bama now owns a 502-350 all-time mark.
A LONG & WINDING ROAD
Following their home tournament on Sept. 13-14, the Crimson Tide embarked on a month-long stretch that kept them away from the friendly confines of the "CAVE" for 11 of 12 matches including a stretch of seven straight matches in which the Tide posted an impressive 5-2 record.
UA HONOR ROLL
The list of honors received by Tide players this year...
ERIN HEFFNER —
SEC Player of the Week (9/30-10/6)
Tournament MVP (Barker GMC Classic)
All-Tournament (Crimson Tide Invitational)
All-Tournament (Georgia Tech Invitational)
ERIN PRICE —
All-Tournament (Barker GMC Classic)
JENNIFER BIBBER —
All-Tournament (Barker GMC Classic)
KENNA MILNER —
All-Tournament (Crimson Tide Invitational)
KORY TULL —
All-Tournament (Georgia Tech Invitational)
ACES FLYING HIGH FOR BAMA
The Crimson Tide is 2nd in the SEC and ranks 10th in the country for service aces with an average of 2.42 per game. Junior Erin Price is listed 26th in the NCAA with 0.60 aces per contest. Alabama notched double-digit aces in 6 of the first 7 matches. Last season, UA was one of the SEC's top servers but never tallied more than back-to-back double-digit performances. In fact, the Tide had only 9 matches with 10+ aces for the entire year. Bama already has 9 double-figure ace performances in 2002. UA served up a season-best 18 points vs Illinois State, marking the most since a 19-ace performance versus Mississippi State on Nov. 23, 1990.
HOME SWEET HOME
For the past two seasons, Alabama has enjoyed a huge home court advantage playing in the "CAVE" (Coleman Auxiliary Volleyball Extension). The Tide is 5-3 this season at home, improving to 22-8 in the venues third season as the home of Crimson Tide Volleyball. The fans have also come out in record numbers as Bama has established season attendance marks the past two seasons.
HEFFNER NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the second time in her career, UA sophomore Erin Heffner was named the SEC Volleyball Player of the Week (Sept. 30-Oct.6). Heffner led Bama to a 2-0 record and finished with back-to-back 20+ kill outings and an astounding 6.29 kills per game average with a .473 hitting percentage.
UA REACHES CHAMPIONSHIP OF CRIMSON TIDE INVITATIONAL
Alabama looked ready to make it two straight tournament crowns but a talented Missouri squad stood in the way handing the Tide its first loss of the year in the championship match.
CUSIMANO TO MISS ANOTHER SEASON
Redshirt freshman, Jennifer Cusimano, who suffered a season-ending knee injury during the first match last season reinjured her knee during some preseason training and will miss the upcoming season following a second surgery.
? South Region Rankings — For the third consecutive season, the Alabama volleyball team has earned a South Region ranking from the AVCA. Eight SEC teams are listed including the top five squads. Here's how the 10/9 poll looks:
1. Florida
2. South Carolina
3. Arkansas
4. ALABAMA
5. LSU
6. Western Kentucky
7. New Mexico State
8. Kentucky
9. Tennessee
10. Georgia
ONE TOUGH SLATE
From the beginning UA's 2002 schedule looked challenging, but now after 7 weeks of play it has lived up to its billing. The 7 teams that have defeated the Tide currently own a 111-27 (.804) overall record. Five of the squads — Nebraska, Santa Clara, Georgia Tech, Missouri, South Carolina — are currently in the Top 25 with the other two (Michigan and Arkansas) just outside the poll. Here's a look at all their current records:
#4 Nebraska (17-1)
#14 Santa Clara (16-3)
#19 Missouri (17-3)
#21 South Carolina (16-3)
#24 Georgia Tech (20-4)
Arkansas (15-5)
Michigan (10-8)
CRIMSON TIDE OPENS YEAR WITH TITLE
For the second consecutive season the Tide volleyball team posted an undefeated record en route to earning the tournament title in their season debut event. Alabama posted 3-1 victories over Marshall, Florida State and Illinois State last weekend to win the Barker GMC Classic crown. The championship marked the 22nd in program history and was the third for the Tide in Coach Judy Green's tenure.
UA LOOKS FOR 4TH STRAIGHT WINNING SEASON
With three consecutive winning seasons the Crimson Tide volleyball program is already in the midst of a historic run since it is the first time in modern volleyball history (since 1989 reinstatement of the sport at UA). What's next? Alabama would like to make it four in a row and also post the team's third straight 20+ win season. The program's first ever NCAA Tournament invitation is also high on the players and coaches goal list.
"CAVE" GETS UPGRADES WITH MORE TO COME
Bama's volleyball home — The CAVE — recently got some a much deserved upgrade as a new floor design was painted on the competition playing surface. A wider crimson border and an elephant head on each end were added to give the the floor at more "Alabama" flavor. Other additions include hanging action photos of the Tide seniors and juniors along with a gigantic Bama "A" logo greeting fans as they enter the gym. New volleyball specific scoreboards have also been installed. In addition to these upgrades, more amenities are planned for next summer when two sets of 500 chairback permanent, retractable bleachers will be installed on each side of the court giving Alabama a truly volleyball specific playing arena.
EXTRA ? EXTRA...
? Common Bonds — UA sophomore Erin Heffner and UT freshman Jasmine Fullove are both natives of Ft. Wayne, Ind., and former standouts and teammates at Snider HS... Tide junior Erin Price and the Auburn duo of Allex Doherty and Lauren Couch all hail from Alpharetta, Ga.
? Baby, Baby — UA assistant coach Michelle Durban and her husband Jason welcomed their first child, Alyson Lynn, on Sept. 18. Alyson weighed 8 lbs, 1 oz and was 21 inches long.
? Senior setter Bridget Studnicka and sophomore setter Kenna Milner were named the 2002 Crimson Tide team captains.
? Freshman Kelley Potter made her collegiate debut in the season opener as the first UA player to play the newly created "Libero" position.
? When the Tide played West Virginia (Sept. 6) it was a family reunion for Bridget Studnicka and her younger sister Brandice, a setter for the Mountaineers. Close to 30 of the sister's family members made the drive from Nebraska to see the match-up all dressed in matching T-shirts sporting both Bridget's #18 and Brandice's #23.
? Freshman walk-on Mary Beth Moore (a native of Double Springs, Ala.) took the first plane ride of her life when UA boarded a Northwest flight headed for Detroit on Aug. 29.
? 5-10 sophomore Kory Tull made her first career start for the Tide against Marshall... as a middle blocker. Tull was expected to challenge for the libero role but with the preseason injuries she got a shot and the middle and has made a difference ever since.
? A Big Red Homecoming —The Tide's visit to Nebraska was a sort of homecoming for senior setter Bridget Studnicka, a native of Clay Center, Neb. A lifetime supporter of the Cornhuskers, she had the chance to play in front of over 50 friends and family members.
? Following Bama's tourney victory at Illinois State, the Tide players reaped a little more attention... the team's flight was less than full and the flight crew invited the "Champs" to move up and enjoy the comforts of the empty first-class section.
? Kenna Milner needs just 27 assists to post the 10th best season total in Alabama volleyball history... She is also just 86 assists shy of recording 1,000 this year.
? Erin Price needs just one block assist to reach 200 for her career and claim sole possession of 7th on the Tide's all-time list.
? Erin Heffner is only 16 digs shy of 500 for her career.
? Halloween Extravanganza — The Bama Volleyball team in conjuction with the Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB) will be hosting a costume contest for kids ages 5-10 during the Alabama-Georgia State match on Oct. 29th. Prizes will be awarded for best costumes during the intermission following game two in the contest.
