Volleyball Hosting #24 LSU and Arkansas in SEC West Showdown
9/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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The Alabama volleyball team (13-2, 1-1 SEC) is looking to return to their winning ways this weekend as they play host to #24 LSU on Friday night at 7:05 and Arkansas on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 in the CAVE. The Tide opened the season 13-1, but fell to Kentucky last Sunday afternoon to snap a modern era record 13-match winning streak.
"This has been an important week of practice to see how we have responded," Alabama head coach Judy Green said. "How respond is everything to this team right now."
In a preseason vote of the conference coaches, LSU and Arkansas were picked as co-champs of the SEC West with the Tide coming in third.
"Historically this weekend has been our big rivalry weekend in the western division," Green said. "LSU has always been a hotly contested rivalry. We want to validate ourselves by knocking off top 50 teams this weekend. That's what we are hungry to do. Quality wins is what it is all about. We have one shot at them at home and we have got to protect our home court."
Alabama is led sophomore Crystal Hudson and senior Kelley Potter who rank first and second in the SEC in hitting percentage at .406 and .390 respectively. Sophomore Bridget Fuentez also leads the way for the Tide, averaging a team best 3.72 kills per game and ranking second on the squad with 3.26 digs per game. Senior Jessica Yearout is third in the SEC in digs per game, averaging 4.51 and needs just 10 digs to reach 1,500 for her career.
LSU (12-1, 2-0 SEC) comes into the match having entered the AVCA Top 25 for the first time in 12 seasons. The Tigers opened 2-0 in the SEC last weekend defeating South Carolina 3-2 on Friday and sweeping Tennessee 3-0 on Sunday. The Tigers played the matches in Fayetteville, Ark. due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
The Tigers are led by Ivana Kuzmic and Jelena Mijatovic. Kuzmic leads the SEC in blocks per game at 1.78. She also ranks sixth in the league with a .372 hitting percentage. Mijatovic is second in the conference, averaging 4.70 kills per game and leads the SEC in aces per game, averaging 0.76.
Arkansas (8-5, 1-1 SEC) split their opening weekend in conference play. The Lady'Backs dropped their league opener to Tennessee 3-0 on Friday, but rebounded to take a five set nail-biter over South Carolina on Sunday.
Denitza Koleva paces the Lady Razorbacks with a 4.06 kill per game average. Also leading for Arkansas are Ashley Miller, who is averaging 4.53 digs per game, and Amy Allison, who is collecting 1.66 blocks per game, marks that both rank second in the SEC.
Both matches will be televised locally by WVUA channel 7. The LSU match will be shown live Friday night, while the Arkansas match will air Monday night at 7:00. Fans can also tune into the radio broadcast online as well as watch live stats for both matches at www.rolltide.com.
The first 250 fans to arrive at the CAVE Friday night will receive regulation size, Alabama logo volleyballs.
