Bama Volleyball Upended by Georgia in SEC Home Opener
10/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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TUSCALOOSA - The University of Alabama volleyball team ran into a solid playing Georgia squad on Friday night in the CAVE and suffered a disappointing 3-0 (30-28, 30-21, 30-24) loss in their home Southeastern Conference opener.
The loss drops the Crimson Tide to 7-9 overall and 2-3 in SEC play. Georgia improves to 10-7, 3-2 and earns a split of the season series with Alabama.
"We did not pass the ball very well tonight," said UA head coach Judy Green. "Our inconsistent passing forced us into being a very predictable volleyball team. I was also disappointed in our serving. I felt like we were not very aggressive from the service line. I am looking forward to seeing how we respond from tonight's play."
The opening game of the match was a back-and-forth contest. Alabama took a quick lead only to see the Bulldogs race back with a 9-2 run giving them a 13-8 advantage. The Tide answered with seven straight points to regain the lead at 15-13. The two squad settled into a sideout battle that UGA eventually won by the slight 30-28 edge.
Game two stayed close until a 6-0 spurt from Georgia gave the 'Dawgs a 13-6 lead. The Crimson Tide continued to battle and closed the gap to just three points at 18-15, but could get no closer as UGA held on for a 30-21 victory.
Georgia opened up the third stanza scoring six of the first seven points. Bama rallied to knot the score several times but a multi-point run by the Bulldogs proved costly again as Georgia closed out the match with a 30-24 win.
Erin Heffner and Jennifer Bibber were the Tide's top performers on Friday night. Heffner finished with a team high 18 kills and 10 digs to post her fifth double-double of the year. Bibber earned her team-leading sixth double-double with 17 kills and 10 digs. Bibber also connected at a season best .448 clip on the night.
For Georgia, sophomore Alexandra Oquendo was the story as the middle blocker recorded an impressive .810 hitting performance including 17 kills in 21 attempts with no hitting errors. Oquendo also tallied six blocks for
the Bulldogs.
Alabama concludes their SEC home weekend on Sunday when the Tide faces #3-ranked Florida at 1:30 p.m. in the CAVE. The Gators enter Sunday's contest with a 119-match consecutive SEC regular season win streak following their 3-0 victory at Auburn on Friday night.
Alabama (7-9, 2-3 SEC) 28-21-24
Georgia (10-7, 3-2 SEC) 30-30-30
