Tide Volleyball Opens Season With Win Over Marshall
9/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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NORMAL, Ill. - It took a young Alabama volleyball team a game to get over their season-opening jitters but once they got comfortable the Tide cruised to an impressive 3-1 (25-30, 30-22, 30-21, 30-25) victory over Marshall in the first match of the Barker GMC Classic at Illinois State.
Erin Price and Erin Heffner paced a balanced Alabama attack with 16 kills each. Jennifer Bibber added nine while Julie Farley chipped in six. A trio of Tide players reached double digit digs led by 15 from Kenna Milner. UA finished the match with 13 service aces and tallied 12 block assists.
"Overall this was a good first win," said UA head coach Judy Green. "This was the first time for this group to play in real competition and I thought they showed a lot of composure. I was pleased with our ball handling and defensive effort. We struggled to find a real offensive flow early but it finally came around. It's always nice to get the year started with a victory."
The two squads spent the early part of the first game shaking off the nervousness of a new season. Marshall put the first run together taking a five-point lead (13-8). Alabama trimmed the margin to one behind a pair of kills from Erin Price along with blocks by Price and Jennifer Bibber.
The Herd answered with five quick points and opened up their largest lead of the game at 21-14 just minutes later. UA refused to quit battling back to within two points (23-21) but could get no closer as Marshall held on for the game one victory, 30-25.
The second game started as a classic back-and-forth affair but a 11-point spurt sparked by Julie Farley's strong serving pushed the Tide to a comfortable lead and they never looked back evening the match at one with a 30-22 win. Farley served up three of her five aces for the match during Bama's run.
Alabama jumped out to an early 7-1 advantage in game three before seeing Marshall rally back to knot the score at 15. The Tide moved slightly ahead over the next several possessions and then rode the strong right arm of Erin Heffner to the 30-21 victory. Heffner tallied UA's final six kills of the third stanza.
Marshall turned the table on the Tide to start the fourth game taking an early 9-3 lead. The Herd maintained its margin in the game until Kory Tull sparked a 10-point run that pushed Bama into the lead at 27-23. Farley was also a big key in UA's closing stretch posting four blocks including the game winner (30-25).
Alabama continues tournament play at the Barker GMC Classic on Saturday with a pair of matches against Florida State (10 am) and host Illinois State (7 pm).
Alabama (1-0) 25 30 30 30
Marshall (0-1) 30 22 21 25
