Alabama Volleyball Travels to Mississippi State and Ole Miss
10/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
 |
|
TUSCALOOSA - The University of Alabama volleyball team hits the road for a pair of key Southeastern Conference Western Division battles this weekend against Mississippi State (Friday) and Ole Miss (Sunday).
This weekend marks the start of a seven-match stretch of games for the Tide versus SEC West opponents. It also opens up a four-match road swing for Alabama.
Alabama enters the weekend with a 14-5 overall record and a 4-4 mark in the SEC. The Tide, in second in the SEC West, trails division leader Arkansas by a single match. UA is currently ranked third in the South Region of the AVCA and owns the #23 national rank in the latest RPI.
"We are headed into the home stretch of our schedule," said UA head coach Judy Green. "This weekend marks the beginning of an important set of matches for this team with regards to accomplishing our goals. We play all our SEC West rivals in the next couple of weeks and that puts our destiny in our own hands. Mississippi State and Ole Miss will be tough challenges for us especially playing them in their home arenas."
UA has enjoyed some success over both MSU and Ole Miss especially in the recent past. The Tide has won its last 10 meetings with each of the two programs and last lost to either of them in 1998. Bama is 63-24 all-time versus the "Magnolia State" duo.
Mississippi State is 12-10 (3-5 SEC) this season and have won their last two matches. The Bulldogs lead the SEC in service aces and boast three of the league's Top 10 individual servers. Alabama and State are set to square off at 7 p.m. on Friday night at the Newell-Grissom Building on the MSU campus.
Ole Miss rides a two-match win streak into this weekend's action that opens on Friday night against Auburn before hosting the Tide on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. The Lady Rebels are currently 10-10 (2-6 SEC) on the year and have already eclipsed their win total from the 2003 season.
Following their swing through Mississippi, Alabama will continue its SEC West road trip next weekend at Arkansas (Oct. 29) and LSU (Oct. 31). The Tide's match against LSU will be televised live on Fox Sports Net South.
