Bama Volleyball Hosts Arkansas in SEC Home Opener
9/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.- The University of Alabama volleyball team returns to the CAVE (Coleman Auxiliary Volleyball Extension) this weekend after a two week hiatus on the road to play host to Arkansas Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
"Arkansas is a very dynamic and talented volleyball team," said Alabama head coach Judy Green. "We are happy to be playing at home in front of our home crowd and hopefully that will be an advantage for us."
Alabama (6-6, 3-0 SEC) heads into the contest on a three match winning streak after sweeping Mississippi State Wednesday in Starkville, Miss. The Crimson Tide is a perfect 3-0 in conference play and is one match ahead of LSU in the Western division race.
Freshman Mary Catherine Aune leads the Tide in service aces with 30 on the season and is currently ranked No. 22 nationally in aces per game with .67. Aune produced 10 aces in the first three conference match and leads the SEC and the Tide in aces per game.
Arkansas (6-6, 0-2 SEC) comes into the contest on a five match losing streak that began with a
0-3 sweep from No. 22 Kansas State. Last weekend, the Lady Backs lost its opening
conference match to Ole Miss followed by a loss to No. 24 LSU. The Lady Backs travel to Mississippi State Friday night before facing the Tide on Sunday.
Alabama trails the series with Arkansas 3-25 after splitting a pair of matches with the Lady Backs last season. The Tide's home win over Arkansas last year was Alabama's first victory over the Lady Backs since 2001.Southeastern
"The SEC West is a wide open race and we are going to need two solid days of practice to get ready to play on Sunday," said Green. "We are going to need a better effort from the service line against Arkansas than we had against Mississippi State as well as a better team defensive effort."
For volleyball season ticket information call the Alabama Ticket Office at 205.348.2262 or visit www.rolltide.com. General admission for the event is $3 and students and children get in free. Alabama will be giving away mini volleyballs to the first 500 fans and anyone with a football ticket stub gets into the match free.
Live stats and results for the match are available at www.rolltide.com.
-UA-
