
Volleyball Sweeps Texas State to win CenturyLink Premier
9/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 11, 2010
SAN MARCOS, Texas - The volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-23) victory over Texas State Saturday to capture the CenturyLink Premier title. With the win, the Crimson Tide improves to 8-2 on the season, while the Bobcats dip to 5-5 overall. At the conclusion of the tournament, senior Alyssa Meuth was awarded Most Valuable Player honors, while sophomore Kelsey Anderson and freshman Shelbi Goode were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
"This was the best match we have played this season to date," Alabama head coach Judy Green said. "I was very proud of the maturity we showed in the match especially in such a hostile environment. Our senior leadership was outstanding, and I thought we played very poised. Throughout the course of the weekend we definitely grew as a team."
Alabama was led offensively by Goode, who finished the match with 12 kills. Following closely behind was Meuth with 10. Junior Stephanie Riley recorded a match-high 18 assists, while Anderson scooped up a match-best 12 digs.
Alabama jumped on top of Texas State early in the first starting the set on a 7-3 run. The Tide continued to distance itself from the Bobcats throughout, taking as much as a 12-point lead. Texas State put together a small run late in the frame to pull within eight, however Alabama would not allow the Bobcats to get any closer. Freshman Shelbi Goode scored the Tide's final two points of the set, both on kills, to award Alabama the first set 25-16.
The Tide carried its momentum over to the second outscoring Texas State 7-1 in the early stages. The Bobcats eventually clawed their way back and tied the set at 13-13 causing Alabama to call timeout. The rest of the frame went back and forth until the Tide was able to string together four unanswered points to close out the second with a 25-20 win.
North Texas found itself in front at the beginning of the third and remained in front despite several ties in score. The Bobcats took their largest lead of the set at 17-13, but Alabama came back to even the set score again with a 6-2 run. North Texas would regain the lead with back-to-back points, however the Bobcat lead would not last long as a 4-0 drive for the Tide, capped off by an Anderson service ace, put Alabama on top 23-21. North Texas cut the Tide lead to one, two more times in the set, but a kill from Goode ended the match giving Alabama the 25-23 win in the set.
For the match, the Tide hit .241 as a team, while holding the Bobcats to .150. Alabama also led in kills (43-34), assists (37-30), digs (53-48) and service aces (5-2).
Next up, Alabama opens Southeastern Conference play when it heads to Oxford, Miss., to take on the Rebels on Friday, Sept. 17. Opening serve is slated for 7 p.m. CT.