Tide Volleyball Tops Kentucky for Fourth Consecutive Win
10/31/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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TUSCALOOSA - The University of Alabama volleyball team had more treats than tricks in their Halloween night match handing Kentucky a 3-1 (30-14, 30-25, 26-30, 30-25) defeat in Southeastern Conference action on Friday.
The win, Alabama fourth in a row, pushed the Tide's overall record to 12-11 and improved their SEC mark to 6-5. The victory was also Bama's fifth straight over the Wildcats. Kentucky falls to 12-11, 4-7 with the loss.
Reigning SEC Player of the Week, Erin Heffner, continued her dominant play for the Tide finishing with a season and career high 28 kills. Heffner hit at a .388 pace in posting her third consecutive 20+ kill performance. Fellow outside hitter Jennifer Bibber also had a big night posting 17 kills.
"It was just an overall solid performance for us tonight," said UA head coach Judy Green. "We beat a good volleyball team who was playing very well. I liked our aggressive start in game one. I thought we played with a lot of intensity. It was good to see us fight through our sluggishness in game three and bounce back in the fourth game. It was just another step of maturity for this team."
Alabama dominated nearly every statistical category in the match, outhitting the Cats .276 to .092. The Tide finished with 68 kills to only 39 for UK and also outblocked them 13 to 6. UA, the SEC's ace leaders, continued to benefit from the service line tallying double figure aces (12) for the seventh time this year.
Bama got out of the blocks quickly taking a 6-0 lead in the opening rotation. The Tide pushed in front by double digits (16-6) and never looked back as they cruised to a 30-14 game one win. Heffner posted eight kills in the frame matching the Wildcat's team total. UA also had four aces in the frame getting a pair from both Bibber and Erin Price.
Game two saw Kentucky earn their first lead of the match at 7-6. The scoring stayed tight for much of the frame with both teams battling back and forth. With the Tide trailing late, Heffner scored back-to-back aces to push Bama back in front by one 22-21. UA outscored Kentucky 8-4 down the stretch for the 30-25 victory. Bibber was the hitting star in the stanza recording four kills in five attempts.
Kentucky grabbed the early advantage following the break, opening up as much as a five-point margin several times. Alabama kept fighting and eventually tied the score at 20, but UK scored the next four points to regain the momentum. The Tide answered with a five-point spurt of its own but couldn't close out the match as the Wildcats scored the final four points for the 30-26 win. Heffner notched seven kills in the frame but the Tide posted its lowest hitting performance of the night (.158) allowing UK to extend the match.
The Crimson Tide gained the early lead (6-3) in the fourth game only to see Kentucky race back and take a 10-9 advantage. From that point, play settled into a sideout battle with Alabama placing the load on the shoulders of its outside hitter duo. Heffner and Bibber both recorded eight kills in the frame. Freshman Abbi Blackburn subbed in and sparked the Tide from the service line with a pair of late points as Alabama was able to hold on for the 30-25 victory.
Junior Kory Tull led the Tide defense with 16 digs follwed by 14 from Heffner. Freshman middle blocker Rachael Green struggled offensively put as a key factor at the net recording a career-best nine blocks including four solo blocks. Price handed out 50 assists in the victory and also posted nine kills.
Kentucky was led by Liz McCaslin and Melissa Popp with eight kills each. Sarah Spinner finished with 18 digs to lead all players defensively.
Alabama continues its SEC home weekend on Sunday when the Tide hosts South Carolina at 1:30 p.m. in the CAVE.
Alabama (12-11, 6-5 SEC) 30-30-26-30
Kentucky (12-11, 4-7 SEC) 14-25-30-25
