Alabama
South Carolina
Volleyball Takes Down South Carolina for First SEC Win
10/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 10, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The volleyball team picked up its first Southeastern Conference victory of the season Sunday with a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-18, 25-16) of South Carolina in the CAVE. The win brings the Crimson Tide to 9-8 overall and 1-6 against league opponents, while the loss drops the Gamecocks to 4-13 on the season and 1-6 in the SEC.
"It is nice to finally get win No. 9 this season," Alabama head coach Judy Green said. "I sense our team's confidence is growing, and I like the way we look right now. We need to keep this going as we get back in the gym this week to prepare for our upcoming road matches. Today, I thought we played disciplined defensively. Our passers did a great job setting up the offense."
Sophomore Kayla Fitterer topped all attackers in the match with 17 kills. She also managed just one error off her 30 attempts for an overall hitting percentage of .533. Senior Kayla Schmidt and junior Stephanie Riley combined for 30 of Alabama's 36 assists, while sophomore Kelsey Anderson collected a team-high 10 digs. Redshirt sophomore Leigh Moyer was solid at the net for the Tide getting a hand in four of Alabama's six blocks.
Collectively, the Tide had one of its best offensive outings recording a .351 hitting percentage with just six attack errors in the match. Alabama also had its second highest total in service aces this season with seven against the Gamecocks.
The Tide took the first four points of the match, eventually stretching the lead to a 14-5 advantage. The set would go back and forth for the next few points before South Carolina closed to within five at 15-10. A kill by senior Alyssa Meuth ended that run, but the Gamecocks hung around until Fitterer and freshman Morgan Hendrix recorded back-to-back kills for a 22-16 lead. South Carolina would battle back to within four, but Meuth put down consecutive kills for a 25-19 first set victory.
The second set was close in the opening stages, but it was the Tide that held a slight advantage the entire way after the Gamecocks tied the score at 5-5 thanks to a service ace. Alabama took the next three points of the set, eventually earning a 14-9 margin after a kill by Fitterer. South Carolina called a timeout, but the Tide still took the next two points to lead 16-9. The Gamecocks never made a serious run throughout the rest of the set, and Fitterer recorded a kill on the final point to give Alabama a two set lead.
The Tide used the momentum to gain a big lead early in the third, going ahead 9-2 after an attack error by South Carolina. The Gamecocks won the next five points to close the gap to two, but that is as close as they would get in the frame. At 10-8, Alabama claimed the next seven points to put the set out of reach. The Tide went ahead by as many as 10 points on several occasions, and senior Calli Johnson slammed down a kill on the final point of the match to give Alabama the sweep.
Next up, Alabama heads north for a pair of SEC Eastern Division matchups at Kentucky and No. 22 Tennessee. The Tide will take on the Wildcats on Friday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. CT in Memorial Coliseum before visiting the Lady Volunteers on Sunday, Oct. 17. Opening serve in Knoxville is slated for 12:30 p.m. CT.
