Alabama Volleyball Hosting No. 6 Florida and Georgia
11/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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The Alabama volleyball team (20-5, 8-4 SEC) closes out their regular season home schedule this weekend by hosting No. 6 Florida on Friday night at 7:00 and celebrating Senior Day against Georgia on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 in the CAVE. The Tide closes out the conference season on the road next weekend before hosting the 2005 Southeastern Conference Volleyball Tournament November 18-20.
Alabama is looking to rebound after dropping a pair of matches on the road last weekend at Arkansas and LSU to fall into a tie for second place in the SEC West.
"We are looking for our team to get back to playing Alabama volleyball," Alabama head coach Judy Green said. "This week in practice we have focused on ourselves and what we need to do to get back to playing at the top of our game."
Alabama is led by sophomores Bridget Fuentez and Crystal Hudson. Fuentez, who along with Megan Hudson were named permanent team captains, leads the Tide with a 3.78 kill per game average. The Tomball, Texas native also is second on the squad in digs per game, averaging 2.94. Crystal Hudson has led the SEC in hitting most of the season and currently ranks second with a .374 hitting percentage. The Hueytown native is also averaging 3.37 kills per game.
Defensively, Jessica Yearout leads the way for Alabama averaging 4.68 digs per game. The senior libero has been a steady force throughout her career. In her two seasons at Alabama and her two seasons at Idaho prior to transferring to the Capstone, the St. Maries, Idaho native has played in every game of every match of her career. Her 403 consecutive games played streak ranks 19th in NCAA history and 11th for players who have played every game of their career.
Sixth-ranked Florida (21-2, 11-1 SEC) comes into Friday night's contest on the heels of a rare loss at the hands of Tennessee. The Gators have dominated the SEC over the years, winning 14 straight championships. Florida holds a 22-5 all-time lead over Alabama having won the last 22 matches.
"Florida is a very athletic team, physical at the net and I think they will be looking to prove that they are the best team in the SEC," Green said. "I think we'll get the best Florida has to offer and I want us to give them the best Alabama volleyball has to offer as well."
Florida is led by two-time All-America Jane Colleymore. Colleymore averages 4.44 kills per game as well as 3.11 digs per game. Rachel Engel is the Gators defensive standout, leading the SEC with a 5.43 digs per game average.
Georgia visits the CAVE Sunday looking to play their way into the SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs have struggled to an 8-13 record overall, and 3-8 record in the league. However, Georgia is leading five schools vying for the final two spots in the tournament. The Bulldogs are playing three matches this weekend, traveling to Auburn on Friday and Mississippi State on Saturday before facing the Tide Sunday afternoon.
"I think Georgia is a very dangerous team right now," Green said. "They have three very experienced players in Meagan Welch, Alexandra Oquendo and Julia Petruschke. They're hungry and they don't have a choice but to fight right now."
Petruschke and Oquendo lead the Bulldog offense averaging 4.26 and 4.20 kills per game respectively, marks that rank fourth and sixth in the SEC. Oquendo is also averaging 1.12 blocks per game defensively. Brooke Burlingame averages 4.01 digs per game to lead UGA defensively.
Friday night's match will be televised by Fox Sports Net Florida but will be shown locally on WVUA 7. Sunday's match will air Monday night on WVUA 7. Both matches can be heard on radio in the Tuscaloosa area on WVUA 90.7 FM. Outside of the Tuscaloosa area, the matches can be heard and live stats can be viewed online at www.rolltide.com.
