Volleyball Hosts Auburn and Georgia This Weekend
11/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 18, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The volleyball team (10-17, 2-15 SEC) returns home for two of its final three matches of the season this weekend beginning with Auburn (17-12, 8-9 SEC) on Friday, Nov. 19, followed by Georgia (13-16, 4-13 SEC) on Sunday, Nov. 21. First serve against the Tigers is slated for 7 p.m. CT, while Sunday's contest will begin at 1 p.m. CT and will air live on CSS. Following Friday's match, head coach Judy Green will be recognized for her career at Alabama, while the seniors will be honored Sunday.
"This season, it is going to be nice to finish at home," Green said. "It is going to be the culmination of a lot of things. It will be the last volleyball matches played in the CAVE ever, it is going to be the last three matches that I will coach at Alabama and it is going to be the last three matches for four of our seniors. This week means a lot to us. We talked about it after our match last Sunday. It is going to be an exciting time, and I cannot think of a better way to close out our season."
Last weekend, Alabama dropped its final two road matches of the season with a 3-1 loss to South Carolina followed by a 3-0 defeat to No. 1 Florida. In Friday's match in Columbia, sophomore Kayla Fitterer recorded double-figure kills for the eighth consecutive match as she had a team-high 16, while senior Mary Catherine Aune had a season-best 15 digs. Freshman Shelbi Goode recorded a team-high six kills in Sunday's loss in Gainesville. In addition, senior Kayla Schmidt had 11 of Alabama's 21 assists and nine of the Tide's 31 digs. Fitterer continues to pace the Alabama offense on the season averaging 3.64 kills per set. Following Fitterer is senior Alyssa Meuth with 3.26 kills per frame. Schmidt leads the Tide's setting duo with 6.05 assists per frame, while sophomore Kelsey Anderson anchors the defense with 4.34 digs per set.
Auburn dropped a five-setter last week to Mississippi after coming back to force a fifth set despite being down 2-0 at the intermission. In the match, Morgan Johns and Sarah Bullock led the Tiger offense with 17 kills and 16 kills, respectively, while Liz Crouch scooped up a match-high 27 digs. For the season, Bullock stands as Auburn's kill leader with 3.01 per set. Christina Solverson dishes out a team-best 6.13 assists, while Crouch tops the defense with 3.92 digs per frame. At the net, the Tigers are led by Lauren Mellor, who averages 0.82 blocks per set. Alabama leads the overall series with Auburn 43-26, however the Tigers have won the previous two meetings. The Tide's last victory came on Sept. 18, 2009, 3-0, in Tuscaloosa.
Georgia went 1-1 last week first stepping out of conference action to take on Kennesaw State where the Bulldogs win 3-0. Georgia would then drop a 3-1 decision in Athens to Mississippi on Friday. Against Kennesaw State, Brittany Northcutt and Valentina Gonzalez combined for 27 of the Bulldogs 55 kills. Carla Tietz had a match-high 19 digs against the Rebels on Friday while none of the Georgia attackers finished with double-digit kills in the match. Gonzalez leads the Bulldog offense with 2.65 kills per set, while Kathleen Gates holds a team-best 10.18 assist per set average. Carla Tietz leads the Georgia defense with 3.34 digs per frame, and Ann Dylla owns a 1.09 block per set average. Alabama leads the series with Georgia 23-20, but the Bulldogs hold a two-match winning streak against the Tide. Alabama's last win came on Sept. 20, 2009, 3-1, in Tuscaloosa.
Marketing has several promotions for this weekend at volleyball as the first 500 fans will receive an Alabama volleyball water bottle on Friday. Sunday's giveaway includes 500 sets of thunder sticks and an autograph session following the match. Regular admission is $3 for adults and free for students and children 12 and under.
