Alabama Volleyball Wins at Mississippi State, 3-1
10/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Alabama volleyball team continued its dominance in the Magnolia State earning a 3-1 (30-25, 24-30, 30-28, 30-22) victory over Mississippi State in Southeastern Conference play on Sunday.
The victory marked the seventh consecutive time that Bama has swept the SEC pair from Mississippi (Ole Miss and State). With the win Alabama improves to 12-6 overall and 3-1 in the SEC. MSU is now 10-8 and 1-3.
"Our passing again was the real key to our win," said UA head coach Judy Green. "The defense picked things up for us in the final two games. I was proud of our blocking and our digging."
The win was also a historic one for the Tide as it marked the 500th victory in Alabama program history. Bama is now owns an all-time record of 500-348 in 22 years of volleyball.
"We are excited and proud to be a part of this important milestone," added Green. "It feels very special and the player and coaches on this team will cherish the memory of this accomplishment."
The Crimson Tide got things rolling early as Erin Price staked UA to a quick lead with back-to-back service aces to open the game. Alabama held a lead the entire frame but State kept things close forcing a tie score a four different occasions. With the score knotted at 17, the Tide scored four straight points including an ace by Kory Tull to move in front for the final time. Alabama earned a 30-25 victory that featured an impressive .400 team hitting performance.
Mississippi State turned the table on the Tide in game two as the Bulldogs rushed out to the early 9-3 advantage. MSU kept the pressure on pushing their lead to near double-digits at 15-6. Alabama continued to battle but could get no closer than five points as the Dogs capitalized on inconsistent Bama passing to capture the 30-24 game two win.
After Bama scored the first two points, MSU answered with the next five and maintained a lead for much of the third stanza. The Bulldogs led by four (21-17) when the Tide finally made its move eventually using a 6-1 spurt to gain a 26-24 lead. State refused to quit rallying to even the score at 28 but untimely MSU serving and hitting errors gave Bama the 30-28 victory. Alabama continued its success in third game play this season improving to 14-4.
UA staked themselves to the early 12-7 lead but a trio of successful MSU middle attacks trimmed the margin to just three points. Julie Farley ignited a 6-1 run by the Tide with three blocks including a solo and a pair of tandem stops to give UA an 18-11 margin. Bama held its margin and cruised to the 30-22 win to capture the match.
Erin Heffner posted her second straight 20+ kill performance finishing with 23 kills for a very balanced Tide attack. Jennifer Bibber posted 17 kills in 33 attempts with just one error for a .485 hitting percentage. Farley tallied eight blocks to pace Bama to the 12-8 edge in blocks with Heffner (14) and Kory Tull (13) both recording double figure digs in the contest.
The Alabama volleyball team makes its long awaited return home for its next competition. The Tide welcomes SEC Western Division foes LSU (Oct. 11) and Arkansas (Oct. 13) to "The CAVE" next weekend. Sunday's matchup with the Lady Razorbacks will be televised by Fox Sports Net South.
Alabama (12-6, 3-1 SEC) 30 24 30 30
Miss. State (10-8, 1-3 SEC) 25 30 28 22
