Volleyball Match Notes: SEC Tournament
11/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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TIDE MEETS SOUTH CAROLINA IN SEC TOURNEY OPENER
The Alabama volleyball opens the 2002 SEC Championship Tournament on Friday morning (11:30 am) against No. 18 South Carolina. The Crimson Tide has suffered a pair of 3-0 losses to the Gamecocks this season. Bama is looking for its second straight SEC tourney opening victory after topping LSU last year in round one. Should the Tide upset USC, they would then face the winner of the Tennessee-Arkansas match on Saturday afternoon.
SCOUTING REPORT
South Carolina... The Lady Gamecocks are 21-5 this season including a 14-2 record in SEC play and ranked 18th in the nation. Both of Carolina's losses in the league came at the hands of regular season champion Florida. USC is the No. 2 seed at this weekend's championship event. South Carolina is the SEC leader in service aces.
INSIDE THE SERIES...
South Carolina holds a slight 11-10 edge over the Tide in their all-time series, with USC having won seven of the last eight meetings between the pair including four straight heading into Friday's tilt. The Lady Gamecocks posted a 3-0 victory over the Tide in 1994 in the duos only previous meeting in the SEC Tournament.
UA AT THE SEC TOURNAMENT
Alabama owns a 5-12 all-time mark at the SEC Championship Tournament. Here's the breakdown of the Tide's play in the event against the rest of the league —
Arkansas: 0-1 LSU: 1-2
Auburn: 0-1 Ole Miss: 0-0
Florida: 0-3 Miss. State: 2-1
Georgia: 0-1 South Carolina: 0-1
Kentucky: 1-0 Tennessee: 1-2
BAMA AGAINST THE SEC EAST
Alabama owns a 43-77 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: 5-19 South Carolina: 10-11
Georgia: 16-13 Tennessee: 6-19
Kentucky: 6-15
ALABAMA VERSUS THE SEC WEST
Alabama owns a 106-85 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: 2-17 Ole Miss: 31-12
Auburn: 29-25 Miss State: 27-12
LSU: 16-19
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 8-5 this season at home, improving to 25-10 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.
RUNNIN' DOWN THE DREAM
With Alabama having reached the 500-win plateau (vs Miss. State) as a team, attention 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) earned the historic win on Oct. 22 as the Tide handed Auburn a 3-2 loss down on the Plains. Green reached another milestone with Bama's victory over Ole Miss on Oct. 4 as it marked the 100th Tide win in her seven-year tenure (currently 107-117 all-time at UA).
ALABAMA V'BALL EARNS 500th WIN
On October 6th, the Crimson Tide defeated Mississippi State 3-1 marking the 500th win in Alabama volleyball history. Bama is now 506-355 all-time.
HOME STATE SUCCESS
With its win over Auburn, Alabama has now posted 13 straight wins over in-state opponents. UA has not lost to a state squad since a 3-2 decision to AU in 1999. Bama's last loss to a in-state team other than the Tigers was in 1994 vs UAB.
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)
POTTER MOLDS NEAR RECORD NIGHT
Bama freshman Kelley Potter continued to make a name for herself this season. Potter, who has played libero, defensive specialist and now middle blocker, inked her name in the UA record books with a .875 hitting performance against Auburn. She recorded kills with her first 11 swings and finished with 14 kills and no errors in 16 attempts to post the second highest single match performance in Tide volleyball history.
ONE MARATHON GAME
Alabama and Georgia treated fans at their Nov. 10 match to a piece of history. The Bulldogs outlasted the Tide in a game that was finally decided by the score of 45-43. The 88 points in game two of the match equalled the NCAA record for most points in a game. The frame featured 10 lead changes and 18 ties. Both teams had chances to win — Bama served 7 times for the victory while UGA finally did it on their 10th try.
ACES FLYING HIGH FOR BAMA
The Crimson Tide is 2nd in the SEC and ranks 17th in the country for service aces with an average of 2.38 per game. Alabama notched double-digit aces in 6 of the first 7 matches. Last season, UA had only 9 matches with 10+ aces for the entire year. Bama already has 13 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.
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.
SOUTH REGION RANKINGS
For the third consecutive season, the Alabama volleyball team has earned a South Region ranking from the AVCA. Seven SEC teams are listed including the top four squads. Here's how the most recent poll looks:
1. Florida
2. South Carolina
3. Arkansas
4. LSU
5. Western Kentucky
6. New Mexico State
7. ALABAMA
8. Georgia
9. Tennessee
10. Central Florida
ONE TOUGH SLATE
From the beginning UA's 2002 schedule looked challenging, but now after weeks of play it has lived up to its billing. The 11 teams that have defeated the Tide currently own a 237-71 (.770) overall record or each team has an average 21-6 record. Six of the squads are currently in the Top 25 with the other five ranked regionally. Here's a look at all their current records:
#4 Florida 26-1
#5 Nebraska 24-1
#11 Santa Clara 23-4
#18 South Carolina 21-5
#23 Georgia Tech 28-5
#24 Missouri 22-6
rv - Arkansas 23-5
rv - Michigan 15-11
Tennessee 20-10
LSU 17-10
Georgia 18-13
UA EARNS 4TH STRAIGHT WINNING SEASON
With three consecutive winning seasons the Crimson Tide volleyball program was already in the midst of a historic run. It was the first time in modern volleyball history (since 1989 reinstatement of the sport at UA) that the program had back-to-back-to-back winning campaigns. With its 18 victories, Bama assured itself of its fourth straight winning season. The Tide now is in search of two more victories to earn the 3rd consecutive 20+ win season.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
EXTRA ? EXTRA...
? 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. Late in the season, Potter has made the switch to middle blocker for Alabama.
? 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.
? Halloween Extravanganza — The Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB) hosted a costume contest for kids ages 5-10 in conjunction with the Bama Volleyball match with Georgia State (Oct. 29). Prizes were awarded and candy was handed out by UA student-athletes from all the sports.
? Threes a Charm — The Tide owns an impressive 21-10 record this season in Game 3 of their matches.
? Costly Errors — While the Crimson Tide has enjoyed a great deal of success on the court this year, one area has been a concern for the team... hitting errors. Bama has committed 30 or more hitting miscues in 13 matches this year which is equivalent to the Tide giving away a game (30 points) in a match. UA is 6-7 in those contests and snapped a string of five straight matches with 30+ with their solid hitting against LSU.
? All in a Season — Here is a look at the Tide players who have earned their way into Bama's Single Season Top 10...
Erin Heffner has the 7th most kills with 537 this year — next up: Nina Foster (551)... Heffner also has the 8th most attempts with 1,162 — next up: Monica Morales (1,178).
Kenna Milner has the 3rd best season with 1,364 assists this year — next up: Jennifer Miller (1,389).
Erin Price has 9th best season with 63 aces this year — next up: Nancy Woolsey (66).
The 2002 Tide currently owns the 5th best hitting percentage at .242... With 269 aces thus far, this year's team ranks 8th all-time — next up: 307 (1990)... UA's 1,805 kills ranks T-3rd all-time — next up: 1,875 (1979)... Bama's assist total of 1,585 is 2nd best season — next up: 1,727 (1999)
