Volleyball Posts Split on Final Day of Crimson Tide Invitational
9/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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TUSCALOOSA - The Alabama volleyball team reached the championship match of the 2002 Crimson Tide Invitational on Saturday with a win over McNeese State but didn't prove as successful in their nightcap dropping a disappointing 3-1 (30-27, 29-31, 19-30, 23-30) decision to Missouri.
The loss snapped the Tide's season opening win streak at six match dropping UA to 6-1 overall. With the victory Missouri improved to 5-1 on the year.
"It was a great opportunity for our team to play a very talented Big 12 team," said UA head coach Judy Green. "We competed well early but we didn't respond very well after we lost in game two. Our team still has some growing up to do."
The Crimson Tide got the early advantage taking the first game 30-27. Alabama led for most of the frame but never by more than three points. With the score knotted at 25, Kory Tull and Erin Price ripped a pair of aces as Bama closed out the scoring in the opening game. UA outhit the Tigers .298 to .256 in the stanza.
Missouri led for most of the second game until a five-point service run by Kenna Milner put the Tide in the lead 22-19. UA held on to its advantage and even led 29-25 when Price recorded a solo block. However, Mizzou would not give up scoring the final six points to swipe the victory away from Bama by the score of 31-29.
Struggling with having given game two away, a sluggish Crimson Tide squad fell behind quickly in game three. Missouri opened up an eight-point lead 20-12 and then kept the pressure on Alabama with strong defensive play. The Tigers won the third game easily by a 30-19 count.
Alabama responded early in the fourth stanza but a determined Missouri squad kept fighting them off. The Tide could never find an offensive flow falling behind by seven points (20-13) and the Tigers maintained that margin as they closed out the match with a 30-23 victory.
Erin Heffner led a trio of Tide attackers with 20 kills followed by Jennifer Bibber with 19 and Erin Price with 12. Milner finished with a team high 12 digs with Price and Heffner reaching double-digits with 10 each. Kory Tull led Bama's front row play with six blocks. One thing missing for the Tide in the match with Missouri was its success from the service line. UA finished with just five aces, its lowest output of the year, while committing 17 errors.
Missouri was led by 18 kills from tournament MVP Shen Danru, who also paced the Tigers with 16 digs.
Alabama opened the day with an impressive 3-0 (30-20, 30-26, 30-24) win over McNeese State. The Crimson Tide dominated for much of the contest briefly trailing just twice over the three games.
The Tide jumped out to a quick lead in the first frame opening up a 10-6 advantage on a service ace by Erin Price. UA extended their lead to 17-11 but MSU came roaring back to pull within three points at 22-19. From that point, sophomore Kory Tull took over from the service line leading Bama on a seven-point spurt including her first of six service aces on the day to earn the 30-20 win.
Tull kept up her momentum from the service line to start the second stanza staking the Tide to an early lead with three consecutive aces. McNeese State rebounded to tie the score at nine but Alabama regained the lead behind some more strong serving. The Cowgirls kept the game close until Erin Price gave UA some late breathing room with an ace and a couple more aggressive serves that resulted in overpass kills by Erin Heffner. Heffner pounded down the next three points from the outside leading the Tide to the 30-26 victory.
Game three stayed close until Heffner pushed the Tide in front for good with a pair of aces to go up 20-15. MSU tried to make a final charge but Alabama held on to earn the three-game sweep winning the final game by the score of 30-24.
"We had a very balanced offensive effort today," said UA head coach Judy Green. "This team continued to dig balls and keep us in long rallies and that's a huge key for us. We set this tournament up to be a challenge for us and we've gotten exactly what we expected."
Jennifer Bibber and Price finished with 12 kills each to lead the Tide offense. Heffner also added 10 kills. Price led the UA defense with 10 digs. Alabama extended its season opening streak to six matches with double-figure aces finishing the match with 15.
In the first match of the morning session, Missouri defeated West Virginia, 3-0 (30-16, 30-13, 30-25) to reach the championship match with the Tide. In the other match on Saturday's schedule, McNeese State earned a third-place showing at the Crimson Tide Invitational with a 3-1 (30-21, 14-30, 30-18, 30-25).
The all-tournament squad at the event included Angie Eppers (McNeese), Stephanie Zolna (West Virginia), Kenna Milner and Erin Heffner (Alabama), Mary Lauren Smith and Christi Myers (Missouri). Mizzou freshman outside hitter Shen Danru earned tournament MVP honors.
The Crimson Tide will take a week off from competition before traveling to Lincoln, Neb., on Sept. 13-14 to participate in the US Bank/Arby's Classic. Alabama will face a pair of nationally-ranked teams Nebraska (No. 2), Santa Clara (No. 24) and Big 10 member Michigan in the event.
Alabama (6-0) 30 30 30
McNeese State (2-4) 20 26 24
Alabama (6-1) 30 29 19 23
Missouri (5-1) 27 31 30 30
2002 Crimson Tide Invitational All-Tournament Team
Angie Eppers (McNeese State)
Stephanie Zolna (West Virginia)
Erin Heffner (Alabama)
Kenna Milner (Alabama)
Mary Lauren Smith (Missouri)
Christi Myers (Missouri)
Shen Danru (Missouri) - MVP
