Alabama
South Florida
Volleyball Wins Four-Set Thriller Against South Florida
9/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 12, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The volleyball team tamed the South Florida Bulls 3-1 before a raucous crowd at The CAVE Friday night in its second match of the Crimson Tide Invitational. Alabama took the first frame 26-24 but stumbled in the second set 25-22. After regrouping for the third set, the Crimson Tide finished strong beating the Bulls 25-12 and 27-25 in the third and fourth sets.
"I was very proud of our team coming out of the intermission for taking control of the match," head coach Judy Green said. "I think that helped us get some momentum. Jumping out on them in the third set was the right mentality for us to have coming out of the intermission."
The Tide had 12 total team blocks, with Lindsey Buteyn getting two solo blocks and one block assist. Amy Pauly led Alabama with 13 digs. The Tide had two players rack up double-doubles in the hard fought match. Brooks Webster earned 25 kills and 12 digs, while Lauren Martin had 38 assists and 10 digs.
"I thought Lauren Martin set a terrific match," said Green. "She had a lot of confidence in every single one of her hitters at the end of the fourth set. I believe she is the reason why we got it done tonight."
In Alabama's opening match, the Tide defeated a tough Samford squad 3-0. The Tide was slow to start but after tying it up 15-15, Alabama took the lead and didn't look back. A kill by Webster finished out the set, 25-21. Alabama won the second set 25-20 and finished the match winning the third and final set 25-22.
"I'm proud of our players and how they adjusted after a slow start in the first set. We just kept our composure and chipped away and, eventually, we wore them down," Coach Green said. "Defensively, I thought we struggled at times, just with the tempo and being in the right place. In the end, we found a way to be successful, and I thought we hit the ball really well."
Pauly and Webster led all players in kills and digs with 11 and 15, respectively. Calli Johnson posted an impressive .875 hitting percentage on 7 of 8 kills.
In the opening match of the day, South Florida swept Murray State 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 26-24). The Racers then played in the first match of the evening session where they fell to Samford in five sets (25-19, 26-28, 26-28, 25-22, 15-8).
The Tide will play its final match of the tournament Saturday when it squares up against Murray State at 1:00 p.m. (CST). Tickets for all matches will be available at the door. In addition, all fans who present a football ticket will be let in free of charge. Live stats will be available on www.rolltide.com.
