Volleyball Travels To Kentucky for Sunday Showdown
9/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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Fresh off a victory in their SEC opener, the University of Alabama volleyball team (13-1, 1-0) travels to Kentucky Sunday afternoon to face the Wildcats. The Tide has won its last seven meetings against UK.
Alabama swept the Auburn Tigers 3-0 Wednesday night on the Plains to extend its winning streak to 13 matches, a modern era (1989-present) record and the longest streak the Tide has had since the 1977 season. Alabama's 13-1 start is the third best in school history behind only a 36-1 mark in 1976 and a 17-1 start in 1977.
Sophomore Crystal Hudson leads the way for the Tide with a .423 hitting percentage, a mark which ranks second in the conference. Bridget Fuentez has also had a breakout year in her sophomore campaign. The Tomball, Texas native paces UA with 3.72 kills per game and ranks second on the squad in digs, averaging 3.19 per contests.
Sunday could be a milestone day for two UA players. Sophomore Brigitte Slack, who ranks fifth on the Tide's career assist list, is just 46 assists shy of 2,000 for her career. The Ft. Wayne native is on pace to shatter her own school record by averaging 13.77 assists per game this season. Senior libero Jessica Yearout is 27 digs shy of 1,500 for her career. The St. Maries, Id. native, who spent her first two seasons at the University of Idaho, is averaging 4.53 digs per game.
As a team, the Tide is ranked first in the league and tenth in the nation in hitting percentage, slugging .287 on the season. Alabama is also tops in the conference in defensive hitting percentage with opponents only hitting .100 against them. The Tide also ranks ninth in the nation in assists.
The Wildcats (7-4, 0-1 SEC) come into Sunday's match-up having dropped their last two contests against Northwestern and Auburn. Prior to the two defeats, UK had won three straight. Senior outside hitter Danielle Wallace paces Kentucky averaging 4.39 kills per game. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Queen Nzenwa is leading the Wildcats with a .340 hitting percentage and defensively with a 1.26 blocks per game average. Senior libero Jenni Casper is UK's dig leader averaging 3.87 digs per game. Kentucky is out hitting its opponents so far this season .235 to .148 and is averaging 1.9 aces per game, a mark that ranks second in the SEC.
First serve of the match is set for 1:30 EST. Live stats for the contest can be viewed online at www.rolltide.com.
