Crimson Tide Volleyball Sweeps Ole Miss
10/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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OXFORD, Miss. - The University of Alabama volleyball team got back to its winning ways on Friday night handing the Ole Miss Lady Rebels a 3-0 (30-28, 30-22, 30-20) loss in Southeastern Conference Western Division play.
With the victory the Tide improves to 11-6 on the year and 2-1 in SEC. Ole Miss falls to 6-8 overall and remains winless at 0-3 in league play. The victory is the 499th in Alabama program history.
"This was a very solid performance," said UA head coach Judy Green. "Our effort and level of play in the match was definitely a direct reflection of the way we practiced this week. Our passing tonight allowed us to run a highly effective offense."
Ole Miss took the early lead thanks to a handful of Crimson Tide service errors. Alabama finally got things rolling from the service line earning their first lead (17-12) after a 9-2 run. The Lady Rebels answered quickly with a 7-1 spurt to regain the lead. Bama scored the next three points including an ace by Kenna Milner to snatch the lead back and maintained an advantage until three late hitting errors allowed UM to knot the score at 28. UA settled down and forced a pair of miscues by Ole Miss to hold on for the 30-28 victory.
The two squads battled back and forth at the start of game two with Alabama unable to ever earn a lead. UA finally moved in front (13-9), capitalizing on an impressive 7-1 run behind strong serving by Milner and Kory Tull. From that point, the pair swapped points for eight consecutive serves until Bama ended the streak with a run of three points. Erin Heffner gave the Tide its largest lead at 27-18 with three straight kills in a late five-point run. Alabama continued their solid play taking the second frame by the score of 30-22.
A determined Crimson Tide squad took charge at the beginning of the third game staking themselves to a 9-4 margin. Alabama continued to control the play and eventually broke the game open with a five-point run that gave the Tide a 20-12 lead. Bama finished strong closing out the Lady Rebels for the 30-20 win and a three-game sweep in the match. Alabama continued its dominance in third game play improving to 13-4 this year in game three.
Heffner was the Tide's top offensive performer finishing with 21 kills in just three games. Jennifer Bibber was the only other Bama player in double figures posting 11 kills. Bibber recorded a career-best 17 digs for the UA defense while Julie Farley was the leader at the net for the Crimson Tide with five blocks. Milner handed out 43 assists in setting the Tide to an impressive .382 hitting performance.
The Crimson Tide will conclude its weekend SEC Western Division road swing on Sunday afternoon against Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., at 2 p.m.
Alabama (11-6, 2-1 SEC) 30 30 30
Ole Miss (6-8, 0-3 SEC) 28 22 20
