Alabama
Kentucky
Volleyball Falls in Conference Opener to Kentucky
9/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 19, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The volleyball team fell in its conference opener to Kentucky in three sets (30-28, 25-16, 25-20) Friday night at Memorial Coliseum. With the loss, the Crimson Tide dips to 7-3 overall and 0-1 in the SEC, while the Wildcats up their season standings to 10-2 and 1-0 in the conference.
"We had a dismal hitting night," said head coach Judy Green. "This was the first time this season where we had that many attacking errors. Part of that was due to the fact that Kentucky is a good blocking team, but the other part of that is our outside hitters have to be more selective on where they attack the ball."
Junior Brooks Webster led the offense with 14 kills and 12 digs to earn her sixth double-double of the season. Sophomore Lauren Martin posted 30 assists for the Tide, while senior Amy Pauly led the defense in digs with 19. Freshman Stephanie Riley saw action in all three sets tallying a career-high 11 digs.
"I thought our defensive effort was exceptional through the first two sets," said Green. "We had great contribution from Stephanie Riley tonight. It was good to see her make an impact in the match when she had the opportunity to."
The first set was a thriller from start to finish. The Tide jumped out to the early 2-0 edge, but Kentucky rallied to take the lead earning three straight points. The Wildcats went up by as many as six before Alabama brought it to within one at 11-10. The remainder of the set saw 12 ties with Kentucky edging out the Tide 30-28 to end the set.
Alabama tallied the first point in the second before the Wildcats grabbed the lead at 2-1. Kentucky pulled away in the beginning and eventually took the set 25-16. Freshman Stephanie Riley had a team-high seven digs in the second.
Much of the third was close with seven ties early on. The Wildcats went on a small run, but the Tide battled back to take the lead at 16-15 behind kills from Webster and freshman Ashley Frazier. Kentucky took the lead back for good at 18-17 closing the set off on a 7-3 run.
"We are still searching for a complete match," added Green. "We need both aspects (offense and defense) to be successful. Our goal is to improve our play by Sunday. We have to be more efficient offensively if we are going to improve."
Alabama continues its road trip in Knoxville, Tenn. as the Tide gears up for a Sunday afternoon matchup with the Lady Volunteers. Opening serve is slated for 12:30 p.m. (CST).
