Bama Volleyball Tops Ole Miss in a 3-0 Sweep
11/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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TUSCALOOSA - The University of Alabama volleyball snapped their two-match losing skid with an impressive 3-0 (30-16, 30-12, 30-26) sweep over Ole Miss in front of 527 fans on Friday night in the CAVE.
The Crimson Tide, who returned home after spending the past two weeks on the road, improved to 17-7 and 7-6 in the Southeastern Conference with a dominating performance over the Lady Rebels (10-15, 2-11 SEC). Alabama has now won 12 straight versus Ole Miss.
Senior All-American candidate Erin Heffner finished with 15 kills and hit .500 for the match while fellow senior Julie Farley posted 14 kills with just two errors in 19 swings (.632 hitting percentage) to lead a balanced Tide offensive attack. For the match, UA nearly doubled up Ole Miss' production by recording 48 kills to the Lady Rebels 25.
"It was good to get back on the winning track," said UA head coach Judy Green. "We struggled last weekend and had a very intense week of practice this week and the team really responded well. I thought our transition offense was very good tonight. I also want to say how proud I am of the performance that Bridget Fuentez had in her first career start."
Alabama dominated the action in the first two games keeping Ole Miss off-balance with aggressive serving and a potent, balanced offense. Freshman setter Brigitte Slack guided the Tide to a .385 hitting performance on the night handing out 39 assists.
Fuentez, a native of Tomball, Texas, recorded six kills and two digs along with the match-winning block in her starting debut for Alabama. Bama also got a solid hitting performance from junior Kelley Potter, who hit .400 in the contest and finished with nine kills.
The Tide not only controlled the match offensively, but also had a strong defensive effort against the Lady Rebels. UA held Ole Miss to a .046 hitting performance and recorded eight aces and seven blocks in the match. Farley led the way with four aces and four blocks. Jessica Yearout and Megan Hudson both tallied seven digs to pace the Tide to a 37-26 edge in total digs.
The top performer for Ole Miss was Elena Garcia who finished the night with team highs in kills (seven) and digs (seven).
Alabama concludes its weekend of SEC play on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. with a rematch against Mississippi State in the CAVE. The MSU match is being broadcast live on the radio by WVUA 90.7 FM and also simulcast at http://www.rolltide.com/.
PHOTO GALLERY:
A big crowd turns out for the Tide's Friday night contest.
Julie Farley spikes one over the net.
Bridget Fuentez returns a ball against the Rebels.
Kelley Potter sends one over the net.
Brigitte Slack and Julie Farley go up for the block.
Brigitte Slack sets up her teammates.
