Volleyball Hosts Showdown with Georgia on Friday
10/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 16, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The volleyball team (10-6, 3-4) will open its four-match home stand Friday night when it hosts Georgia (10-9, 3-5) at the CAVE. Opening serve is slated for 7:00 p.m. (CST), and the match will be broadcast live on WVUA - TV.
"Day-to-day consistency is still the No. 1 goal for our team," explained head coach Judy Green. "All of our preparation last week helped us to be successful against Arkansas and Ole Miss. Our intent is to do the same thing this week. Another thing we need to do is take a lot of pride in defending our home court. We need to get back to making the CAVE the hardest place to play in the conference."
The Crimson Tide enters the weekend on a two-match winning streak having, most recently, won at Arkansas and Ole Miss. Against the Razorbacks, Brooks Webster recorded 22 kills to lead the Alabama attack, while four other players set a total of seven career highs. The Tide's 63 kills were a season best for the squad that had four players with nine kills or more. On Sunday's matinee matchup with the Rebels, Calli Johnson, Stephanie Riley and Webster each had double-double performances. Johnson netted 11 kills and 11 digs, both of which were career bests, Riley dished out 29 assists and scooped up 14 digs, and Webster tallied a match-high 20 kills and 10 digs. Amy Pauly led the Alabama defensive front with a season-best 31 digs. Pauly was awarded Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season behind her 51-dig weekend.
Georgia is also coming off a two-win weekend where the Bulldogs downed LSU 3-0 at home and took a five-set match against Auburn on the road 3-2. Maria Taylor tallied 32 kills total in the two matches that included a 21-kill outing against Auburn. At the conclusion of the weekend, Taylor moved up to sixth all-time in career kills with 1,587. Kathleen Gates sets up the majority of the Georgia offense where she averages 10.15 assists per set. In addition, she leads the team in service aces per set with 0.43. On defense, Erika Clark stands at the top of the Bulldog defenders list averaging 3.19 scoops per set.
Friday's match marks the 38th meeting between the two institutions where Alabama holds a slight advantage leading Georgia 21-16 in the series. The two teams split matches last season with the Tide winning 3-1 in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 14 and the Bulldogs winning 3-0 Nov. 2 in Athens, Ga.
"Georgia is a very scary team to play," said Green. "They have one of the best players in the conference in Maria Taylor. She is such a dominant player and can be a game changer at any time. They are lumped in with a large group in our conference where it's any team's match on any given day. We know we have to play well in order to beat them."
Alabama also hosts LSU this weekend with match time on Sunday scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (CST). Admission to both matches is $3, however, all fans that present an Ole Miss football ticket will be let in free of charge. In addition, Friday is Scout Night where all scouts will be let in free. The scout with the best poster design will win dinner for four. The match will be broadcast live on WVUA - TV and WVUA - FM. Live stats will also be available on rolltide.com.
