Crimson Tide Volleyball to Open Season Friday
8/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA ?? The University of Alabama volleyball team will open its 2006 season by hosting its own Academy Sports Invitational beginning on Friday, August 25 at 7 p.m. (CT). The Tide welcomes Miami (Fla.) to the CAVE for its first match of the season.
Kansas and Alabama A&M will also be on hand for the Academy Sports Invitational and will play prior to the Alabama-Miami match beginning at 4:30 p.m.
“What a great tournament to open our season with,” head coach Judy Green said. “We have three quality teams who all know how to win. I think it is an opportunity to play two potential top-50 teams to open the season.”
The Tide enters the season with five returning starters from the 2005 team that earned the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. Alabama, who also advanced to the SEC Tournament championship game for the first time in school history, lost to Ohio, 3-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Miami also returns five starters from its 16-14 team in 2005. The Hurricanes finished sixth in the ACC a season ago.
“Miami is a veteran volleyball team that returns five starters and an AVCA honorable mention All-American,” Green said. “They are a fast, athletic and very emotional type of team. I like the matchup because we are very similar to that.”
Kansas, one of the top teams in the Big 12 conference the past few years, posted a 15-15 mark last year, missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2002 campaign. The Jayhawks return four starters from that unit and welcome eight newcomers to the squad in 2006.
Four matches will be played on Saturday, August 26, beginning at 11 a.m. Admission to the Academy Sports Invitational is free. All three of Alabama’s matches will be broadcast on WVUA Radio, FM 90.7 in Tuscaloosa.
