Alabama Volleyball Defeats Georgia State, 3-1
10/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
 |
|
TUSCALOOSA - The Alabama volleyball team overcame a slow start to earn an impressive 3-1 (28-30, 30-24, 30-24, 30-24) victory over Georgia State on Tuesday night in the CAVE.
The Tide returned to its winning ways with the victory and improved to 16-9 on the year. The loss snapped Georgia State's eight-match win streak and pushed their all-time record against Alabama to 0-14.
"I'm very proud of how we grinded out a win tonight," said UA head coach Judy Green. "We had a strong effort especially defensively and I like the way we closed out the match. We are still searching right now to regain our offensive rhythm."
Alabama broke open a close first game with a 6-1 run midway through the frame to take a 15-11 lead. UA maintained its margin until the Lady Panthers finally clawed back into game and tied the score at 22. GSU took a lead at 29-26 but had to fight off a last Bama surge to hold on for the 30-28 win.
Game two began as another close battle until the Tide put together five-straight points for a 17-11 advantage. Bama kept the pressure on, extending their lead to 24-17. Georgia State attempted to make a late run but the Tide proved too strong earning the 30-24 victory and evening the match at one game apiece.
Following the break, a more aggressive Alabama squad raced out to an early 8-3 margin in game three. The Tide maintained a lead until a 5-0 run by GSU, that included three unforced hitting errors by UA, allowed the Panthers to take a 16-14 advantage. Bama answered with the next three points and then moments later opened up a four-point lead (25-21) with a 6-1 stretch. Kory Tull came up big down the home stretch scoring kills on the Tide's final four points for a 30-24 win.
Bama again jumped out quickly taking an 8-2 lead in the fourth stanza. Jennifer Bibber scored seven straight points from the service line for the Tide. Georgia State refused to quit trimming the UA margin to just one point, 10-9, following a trio of Tide hitting miscues. The score stayed close as the two squads traded points on sideouts. GSU earned its first and only lead of the final game, 19-18, with a four-point spurt. With the score knotted at 22, Alabama outscored the Lady Panthers 8-2 to capture the game and win the match.
Erin Heffner recorded 21 kills to lead a quartet of Tide players in double figures. Tull finished with a career-best 17 kills followed by 16 from Bibber and 12 by Erin Price. Kenna Milner handed out a personal-best 62 assists on the night and finished with 10 digs to earn the double-double. Freshman Kelley Potter was joined by Price and Heffner atop the Tide defensive list with 13 digs each. Potter recorded a career-high in the match. Julie Farley finished with eight block assists to help lead the Tide to a season high 24 block assist performance.
Molly Sapp was the lone GSU player in double figures finishing with 10 kills on the night. Georgia State tallied just 43 kills for the match while the Tide blasted 72 over the four games. The Lady Panthers were also victimized for 10 aces by Bama servers.
The Crimson Tide makes its final regular season SEC road trip this weekend when Alabama visits SEC Western Division rivals Arkansas (Friday) and LSU (Sunday). UA is looking for a pair of victories to get back into the SEC West title race.
Alabama (16-9) 28 30 30 30
Georgia State (21-12) 30 24 24 24
