Alabama Volleyball Sweeps In-State Rival UAB
9/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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BIRMINGHAM - The Crimson Tide volleyball remained perfect on the season posting a 3-0 (30-18, 30-21, 32-30) victory on the road at in-state rival UAB.
With the win Alabama improved to 4-0 this year while the Blazers remained winless falling to 0-4. The victory also marked UA's 10th consecutive win over an in-state opponent.
"It is always a big thing to defeat an in-state foe," said UA head coach Judy Green. "This young team is still trying to find their flow. I felt like we did the things we needed to do to win this match. We took care of the ball and again served extremely well."
The Crimson Tide got things rolling from the start jumping out to the early lead. Alabama used strong serving (six aces) in the opening frame to maintain a comfortable advantage. Junior Jennifer Bibber finished the first game off with a flurry scoring four of the team's final six points on kills while Erin Price tally the other two points with aces from the service line. UA captured the first game 30-18.
Price kept up the solid play from the back line firing back-to-back aces at the start of game two to give Alabama another early margin. Bama kept building on their lead taking a double-digit (15-5) advantage on a block by Kory Tull and Kenna Milner. The Tide held their advantage throughout the stanza as UAB could get no closer than eight points the rest of the way. Alabama earned a 2-0 lead in the match with the 30-21 win. Junior college transfer Denee Ezerins saw her first collegiate action for the Tide in the second frame.
UAB battled the Tide point-for-point for much of the third frame as Alabama made several lineup changes in the game including giving seniors Shelly Adamcik and Bridget Studnicka their first action of the year. A determined Blazer squad refused to go away easily taking a late lead (27-21) but four quick points on Adamcik's strong serve including an ace pulled the Tide right back into the fray.
Kills by Bibber and Heffner followed by Price's fifth ace of the night put the Tide back in front and then the UA senior duo nailed down the win with a block as Bama rallied for the 32-30 victory.
Bibber led the Tide offense for the third straight match pounding down 16 kills. Heffner finished with her third double-double of the year with 12 kills and a team-high 10 digs. For the fourth consecutive game the Tide recorded double-digit aces finishing with 13 in the contest.
Alabama opens up the home portion of its 2002 schedule this weekend when the Tide hosts the Crimson Tide Invitational. UA meets West Virginia on Friday night at 7:30 before facing McNeese State (1 pm) and Missouri (7:30 pm) on Saturday.
Alabama (4-0) 30 30 32
UAB (0-4) 18 21 30
