Tide Volleyball Wins Five-Game Thriller at Tennessee
11/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ?? It couldn’t have been a more dramatic finish for the University of Alabama volleyball team tonight, as the Crimson Tide overcame a two-game deficit to defeat rival Tennessee in five games in a Southeastern Conference volleyball match in Knoxville.
Alabama, who has struggled on the road throughout the latter half of the SEC schedule, certainly didn’t get off to a good start. The Lady Vols held the Tide to hitting percentages of .061 and .098 to post easy wins, 30-24 and 30-20, in the first two frames.
“What a great come-from-behind, gutsy, hard-fought match where we just absolutely had to have to will a way to win,” said Alabama head coach Judy Green. “We dug 97 balls in five games, and that is just an unbelievable number. This was just a total team effort and a gritty win for our team.”
Facing elimination while attempting to earn its first road victory in the conference in over a month, the Tide scrapped back. Hitting .250 in game three, Alabama earned a 30-24 game three win to keep its hopes alive. The Tide defense took control in the third frame, shutting down the UT attack and forcing the Lady Vols into a .060 hitting effort.
“I asked them what they were waiting for between games two and three,” said Green. “I told them that they had to make a decision to battle for every point in every game and not take any points off, because that’s what had been happening for us on the road. They responded.”
Game four was an absolute thriller, with eleven lead changes between the two archrivals in a classic SEC match. The Tide pulled ahead late, only to see Tennessee surge back. Alabama was just too much, though, and fought its way to the game-four victory.
Heading into the decisive frame, momentum was all on the side of the visitors, and the Crimson Tide rode it for all it was worth. Alabama jumped out early and never looked back, using a 72 percent side-out percentage to put away the Lady Volunteers, ending a month’s worth of frustration on the road in the process.
Crystal Hudson, the two-time SEC Player of the Week, was the Tide’s most dynamic offensive player in the match, recording a match-high 18 kills on 38 attempts. Hudson’s 15th kill in game four was one for the record book. With that kill, the Hueytown native notched the 1,000th kill of her illustrious career, becoming just the 10th player in school history to reach that milestone.
“I am just so proud of Crystal to eclipse that 1,000-kill mark tonight,” said Green. “She had to work hard to get every single one of them, because they had her number for awhile.”
Hidden behind Hudson’s offensive accomplishments, but just as important for the Tide was the performance of teammate Bridget Fuentez. Fuentez, a second team All-SEC selection a year ago, tallied her 12th double-double of the season with 16 kills on an unbelievable 59 attempts to go with 21 digs, a new career high.
“Bridget’s all-around game has just really been there for us all year,” said Green. “When we pass well, her offense is great, but her contributions in the passing and digging games have been just as important for us. She dug some rockets tonight down the stretch on the defensive side.”
None of those numbers would have been possible without solid passing and the execution of setter Brigitte Slack. Slack, who is close to becoming just the third Tide setter in school history with 4,000 career assists, added 54 to her career total in tonight’s match, setting up a Tide offense that featured four players in double figures in kills.
Slack’s efforts helped two other Tide players who, in addition to Hudson and Fuentez, tallied double figures in the kill category. True freshman Liz Salstrand, from Rockford, Ill., pounded 10 kills on the night to set a career mark. Redshirt freshman Brooks Webster tallied 13 for the Tide, while senior Rachael Green chipped in with nine.
“I am just so happy for Liz and Brooks, who just started playing so much better in game three,” said Green. “Their improvement is really a big thing that helped us win this match.”
The glory wasn’t all on the offensive side for Alabama, however. Amy Pauly, the Tide’s libero, racked up 29 digs on the defensive end. She led four Tide players who finished in double figures in digs. Joining Pauly and Fuentez was Slack and co-captain Megan Hudson, who had 13.
Alabama looks to extend its road win streak to two matches on Sunday, Nov. 5, when the Tide travels to Kentucky to face the Wildcats in Lexington. Alabama defeated UK at home earlier this season. The Tide and the Wildcats are slated to begin their match-up at 12:30 p.m. (CT).
