Tide Battles No. 14 Kansas State in Volleyball
9/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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BOZEMAN, Mont. - The University of Alabama volleyball team battled from the opening serve but the No. 14 Kansas State Wildcats proved too strong earning the 3-0 (30-21, 30-25, 30-22) sweep in second day action at the Mizuno/Holiday Inn Classic.
Alabama falls to 1-4 on the year with the loss while the Wildcats improve to 5-2 earning their fifth consecutive victory.
The Tide's outside hitter duo of Erin Heffner and Jennifer Bibber paced the UA offensive attack finishing with 11 kills each. Alabama posted a .105 hitting percentage for the match, their best performance in a 3-game contest this season.
"We did a better job with sideout situations today," said UA head coach Judy Green. "We definitely were much improved offensively. This team still needs to work on not making unforced errors late in games. We have to make teams earn the win against us. I was proud of the determination we showed today."
Kansas State opened up a near double-digit gap in game one (16-7) following a 13-4 run that included several unforced errors by the Crimson Tide. Alabama kept battling and finally trimmed the KSU margin to just five (25-20) but could get no closer as the Wildcats finished strong for the 30-21 victory.
Alabama grabbed the momentum in the second frame earning their first advantage of the match behind solid net play and aggressive serving. Kory Tull recorded back-to-back aces as Bama opened up a 14-10 lead. The Tide maintained their edge for much of the game but a 5-1 spurt by KSU allowed them to take a 23-20 lead. UA answered with three straight points to knot
the score. After the teams traded a pair of sideout points, K-State closed out the game with the final five points for the 30-25 win.
The Wildcats took the early lead in game three stringing together six points as the Tide's serve receiving struggled to find some consistency.
Trailing 7-3, Bama scored three consecutive points to close to within one. The score stayed close with Kansas State owning a slight edge before UA used a four point spurt to tie the score at 19. However, KSU again proved stronger down the stretch outscoring the Tide, 11-3, en route to the 30-22 decision.
The Crimson Tide defense was led by seven digs from both Kelley Potter and Mary Beth Moore. Potter started the match for Alabama as a middle blocker. Other Bama highlights included three service aces from Tull, four blocks by Julie Farley and the collegiate debut of true freshman Abbi Blackburn.
A pair of Kansas State attackers finished with 11 kills and KSU won the back row defensive battle posting a 51-38 edge in digs. Valeria Hejjas led the Wildcats with 10 digs.
Alabama will conclude their appearance in the Mizuno/Holiday Inn Classic against host team Montana State in the event's final match at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
Alabama (1-4) 21-25-22
#14 Kansas State (5-2) 30-30-30
