Alabama Volleyball Extends Streak With Win at Auburn
10/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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AUBURN, Ala. - The University of Alabama volleyball team got things back on the winning track on Wednesday night with an impressive 3-0 (30-21, 30-24, 30-21) sweep over in-state rival Auburn.
The victory snapped UA's two-match losing skid and also gave Bama its seventh consecutive win over Auburn. With the win Alabama improves to 8-10 overall and 3-4 in Southeastern Conference play. Auburn slips to 9-10 on the year and remains winless in SEC play at 0-7.
"We played good team volleyball tonight," said UA head coach Judy Green. "We did a good job of taking care of the ball and I felt like the players did an outstanding job of executing our game plan. I am always happy when we can get a road victory in the SEC."
The Crimson Tide got out of the blocks quickly taking a 14-6 lead early in game one. Bama maintained a comfortable margin for much of the frame eventually winning by the score of 30-21. Alabama outhit the Tigers .368 to .125 and were led by seven kills from Erin Heffner.
Auburn grabbed a slight lead at the beginning of the second stanza, but the Tide slowly crept back into the contest with solid defense. UA knotted the score at 9 and then moved in front. Bama held as much as a six-point advantage (27-21) before a late Tiger rally cut the deficit to only three. The Crimson Tide got things back on track scoring the final three points for a 30-24 win.
Alabama got rolling first in game three using some consistent passing to surge in front, 15-8. The Tide pushed its margin to double digits 22-10 only to see Auburn fight back to pull to within seven at 23-16. UA turned things into a sideout battle from there closing out the match with a 30-21 victory.
Heffner led the strong Tide offensive attack finishing with 12 kills and hitting at a .321 clip. Julie Farley led the Bama front row with seven blocks and posted an attack percentage of .500 with six kills and only one hitting error. UA recorded six aces in the win and didn't allow the Tigers to tally any aces.
The Tide continues its week of road matches on Sunday when Alabama visits Knoxville, Tenn., for a battle against SEC Eastern Division foe Tennessee at 2 p.m. (ET)
Alabama (8-10, 3-4 SEC) 30-30-30
Auburn (9-10, 0-7 SEC) 21-24-21
