Volleyball Hosts Auburn Sunday
9/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 19, 2009
Alabama Crimson Tide (3-8, 1-0) vs. Auburn Tigers (9-3, 1-0)
Tuscaloosa, Ala. at 1:00 p.m. (CST)
Series History: Alabama leads the series 42-24
Last Match: Nov. 2, 2008 in Auburn (Alabama won 3-1)
Television: CSS (Chris Stewart and Maria Taylor)
Radio: 90.7 FM The Capstone (online at thecapstone.ua.edu)
Live Stats: RollTide.com
SCOUTING AUBURN
Alabama's cross-state rival Auburn travels to west Alabama on Sunday fresh off a 3-0 win at Mississippi State in Starkville. The Tigers, who enter today's match with a division high 9-3 overall record, are led by current SEC Freshman of the Week Katherine Culwell with 3.67 kills per set against league opponents.
LAST TIME OUT
Alabama won its conference opener in convincing fashion, defeating Georgia 3-0 (29-27, 25-14, 25-15), ending its six-match win streak, in the CAVE Friday night. Sophomore Ashley Frazier and junior Alyssa Meuth led the match with 15 kills and 13 kills, respectively. Frazier also led Alabama with 11 digs. Junior Kayla Schmidt topped the Tide in assists with 24. For the match, Alabama hit .377 percent while holding Georgia to just .140.
ALABAMA IN THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
The Tide currently owns a 135-176 (.434) record against league foes spanning across 21 seasons. Its best finish came in 2006 and 2007 with Alabama picking up 12 wins. The Tide won the SEC Western Division crown in 2000 and 2004 after going 11-4 and 10-6, respectively.
BLOCK PARTY
The Tide has had a solid start at the net this season where it averages 2.5 blocks per set. That is the highest rejection figure since the 2006 season when Alabama tallied 2.7 per frame.
SALSTRAND MOVING UP IN RECORD BOOK
With her 12 block assists in the Hornet Invitational, senior Elizabeth Salstrand jumped to No. 11 on Alabama's career list. She needs just five more to pass Brigitte Slack for the 10th spot.
FOLLOWING THE TIDE
Tide fans will have no problem keeping up with the volleyball team this season thanks to the addition of several online outlets this fall. All home matches will be streamed live and can be seen on Rolltide.com. In addition, all matches, beginning with SEC play, will air live on 90.7 the Capstone both on the radio and internet. Fans can also follow the team's twitter page @AlabamaVB.
ADDED AIR TIME
Thanks to the Southeastern Conference's new multi-year television agreement, three of volleyball's league matches will be broadcast live. In all, a record-setting 16 SEC volleyball matches will be seen live on three different outlets throughout the 2009 season. The Crimson Tide's first regionally aired contest will be September 20 when it hosts the Auburn Tigers. The match will be broadcast on CSS beginning at 1:00 p.m. (CST). Alabama also has a pair of matches on FS South that includes its October 2 show-down with LSU and its November 15 contest against Arkansas. The matches will air at 7:00 p.m. (CST) and 1:00 p.m. (CST), respectively.
ALABAMA'S ONCE AND FUTURE HOME
The Alabama volleyball team will move back to its original home in 2011 when renovations to historic Foster Auditorium are completed. Once renovations are complete the U.S. National Landmark will serve as one of the nation's newest state-of-the-art facilities in women's athletics. Alabama posted a 161-68 record in 15 season at Foster Auditorium before moving to Coleman Coliseum.
2008 SEASON REVIEW
The Crimson Tide finished the 2008 season with an overall record of 16-13 and a 9-11 mark in the SEC. It welcomes back five starters to the 2009 lineup including AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and All-SEC Preseason pick Brooks Webster. In addition, Alabama added four newcomers, two freshman and a pair of transfers.
WEBSTER NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-SEC TEAM
Senior outside hitter Brooks Webster was named to the Volleyball Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team earlier this month. An anchor for Crimson Tide's offense, Webster led her squad, as well as the entire league, with 4.04 kills per set in 2008. She proved to be consistent over the season for Alabama, racking up 11 double-doubles and double-digit kills on 22 occasions. Webster set her career-high in kills towards the end of the season with 26 at Georgia on Nov. 9. She also stepped up for the Tide on the defensive end with 287 digs and 45 blocks, 16 of which were solo efforts.
ALABAMA PICKED TO FINISH THIRD BY COACHES IN WEST
In a preseason vote by the 11 Southeastern Conference coaches, Alabama was selected to finish third in the Western Division in 2009. The Crimson Tide came in behind LSU and Mississippi, and placed ahead of Auburn, Arkansas and Mississippi State. The SEC coaches picked Florida to win the Eastern Division and the outright conference championship.
NEW FACES
Alabama added four new faces to its roster this season with two freshman and a pair of transfers. Included in the Tide's freshman class is a pair of PrepVolleyball.com High School All-Americans in Kelsey Anderson and Kayla Fitterer. Anderson, an outside hitter/defensive specialist from Louisville, Ky., was the 2008 Kentucky Player of the Year and 2008 Miss Kentucky Volleyball. She was a member of the All-State and All-Region teams helping Mercy Academy to a 40-1 record and state championship honors. Fitterer, an outside hitter from Edwardsville, Ill., set the Edwardsville High School career kills record and helped it to win the conference, regional and sectional championships in 2008. She ranks in the top 20 in the state of Illinois for career kills and was a two-time All-State First Team selection. In addition, Fitterer was named the Alton Telegraph Large School Volleyball Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008. Making her way back to her home state is Montgomery native Sarah Machen. Machen spent two seasons at the University of Oklahoma, one of which was a redshirt year. She appeared in three matches for the Sooners collecting one kill and a pair of blocks. Also transferring to play with the Tide is Kayla Schmidt. In 2008, Schmidt guided Blinn College to the NJCAA National title earning tournament MVP honors. In addition, she garnered both the NJCAA as well as the AVCA National Player of the Year awards.
NEXT UP
The Tide head east next weekend to take on SEC eastern division foes South Carolina and Florida. Alabama will square off against the Gamecocks on Friday in Columbia at 6:00 p.m. (CST) and will take on the Gators Sunday in Gainesville at 11:30 a.m. (CST).
