Volleyball Downs Georgia 3-1

The Alabama volleyball team over came a shaky start to beat the Georgia Bulldogs 3-1 in Athens, Ga. Friday.

“I was really proud of our team tonight,” Crimson Tide coach Judy Green said. “We maintained our focus after losing the first game. To get any win in the SEC is tough, especially when you’re down early, but we did a great job of maintaining focus.”

Alabama fell to the Dogs 30-26 in the first game, hitting a paltry .042. From that point on though, the Tide was in control. They hit .385 in game two, winning 30-13 to even up the match.

The Dogs wouldn’t go away, pushing the Tide to the limit in the third game, but Alabama stayed strong, coming out on top 30-28. Alabama reasserted itself in the game four, hitting .222 while holding Georgia to a -.171 percentage, winning 30-15.

“Brooks Webster and Bridget Fuentez did a great job,” Green said. “They really took care of the volleyball well tonight. As a team we did a much better in the serve and pass game tonight. That has been a problem at different points this season, but tonight we were solid in that part of the match and that’s why we won.”

Alabama had three athletes with double digit kills. Webster, a red-shirt freshman, led the Tide with a career best 18 kills. Hudson posted a season best three solo blocks, which ties her career best. She also had three block assists. Junior Crystal Hudson posted 17 kills and hit a match best .419. Fuentez, a junior, had 14 kills, hitting for .250. She also came away with 15 digs.

Sophomore Amy Pauly led the Tide with 16 digs while junior Megan Hudson chipped in a dozen. Junior setter Brigitte Slack had 48 assists, putting her just 70 away from third place on the Tide’s all-time list.

For the Tide, the win over Georgia put an end to a two game slide that included losses at Auburn and Florida. Alabama continues its road swing Sunday at South Carolina.

“The things we worked on in practice this week really carried over to the match,” Green said. “We need to continue to improve, because South Carolina is a good team, but it was a good first step for the weekend. The team has been much more focused and that has made the difference.”

The Tide’s match against the Gamecocks gets underway at 1:30 p.m. ET in Columbia, S.C.

University of Alabama Athletics

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