Volleyball Travels to Auburn and Georgia This Week
9/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 22, 2011
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama Crimson Tide (6-6, 0-2 SEC) continues Southeastern Conference play with a pair of road matches this week. Alabama opens the week with a Friday night match against the Auburn Tigers (6-6, 0-2 SEC), with first serve slated for 7 p.m. from the Student Activities Center. The week closes with a 12:30 p.m. CT, match in Athens, Ga., against the Georgia Bulldogs (4-8, 0-2 SEC) from the Ramsey Student Center.
Weekly Schedule
Alabama (6-6, 0-2 SEC) at Auburn (6-6, 0-2 SEC)
September 23, 2011 | Auburn, Ala. | Student Activities Center | 7 p.m. CT
Audio: None | Live Stats: RollTide.com | Video: auburntigers.com
Alabama (6-6, 0-2 SEC) at Georgia (4-8, 0-2 SEC)
September 25, 2011 | Athens, Ga. | Ramsey Student Center | 12:30 p.m. CT
Audio: None | Live Stats: RollTide.com | Video: georgiadogs.com
FOLLOW THE TIDE ONLINE
For this week's road volleyball matches, there will not be a radio broadcast available through WVUA 90.7 FM. Fans can follow the action live on the internet with live stats on RollTide.com, or by watching the video webcast provided by Auburn and Georgia. The webcast for the Auburn match will be available for free at auburntigers.com, while the webcast at Georgia is part of the subscription package through georgiadogs.com.
Players to Watch
Junior outside hitter Kayla Fitterer continues to put up good numbers for the Alabama volleyball team. Fitterer ranks third in the Southeastern Conference and 24th in the country with 4.32 kills per set. Fitterer has reached double-digits in kills in all 12 matches in 2011, while recording 10 double-doubles after posting 10 or more digs in 10-of-12 matches. Fitterer is also second on the team with 15 service aces and fourth with 19 total blocks.
Andrea McQuaid has been a well-rounded addition to the roster for 2011. Earlier this season, McQuaid recorded the school's fifth triple-double against Toledo, then became the only player in school history with two triple-doubles when she had 13 kills, 23 assists and 21 digs against Penn. McQuaid leads the team with 286 total assists, averaging 5.72 per set, and service aces with 16. A triple-threat player, McQuaid averages 1.52 kills, 2.80 digs and 0.32 blocks per set.
SCOUTING THE AUBURN TIGERS
Auburn enters the second week of SEC play with a 6-6 record, while posting an 0-2 mark in conference play. The Tigers dropped three-set road matches to Kentucky (0-3) and Tennessee (0-3) to open SEC play last week. After posting a five-match win streak, the Tigers have dropped five of their last six matches, and have lost 12 of their last 15 sets overall.
As a team, Auburn averages 11.85 kills per set while posting a .197 team hitting percentage. AU averages 2.02 blocks and 0.76 aces per set this season. Two players average more than two kills per set, as Kelly Fidero leads the way with 108 kills, to average 2.63 per set. Fidero has a .243 hitting percentage, committing 41 errors on a team-high 276 attempts. Sarah Bullock is second on the team with 2.45 kills per set. Chelsea Wintzinger averages 5.56 assists per set to lead the team, while Christina Solverson averages 4.24 assists per set in a secondary setter role.
When Alabama and Auburn meet on Friday, it will mark the 71st meeting all-time. Alabama leads the series 43-27, but has dropped the last three to the Tigers. After defeating the Tide 3-0 on Oct. 3, 2010, Auburn has won the last two games played at the Student Activities Center.
SCOUTING THE GEORGIA BULLDOGS
Georgia enters the week with a 4-8 overall record after starting SEC play with losses to Tennessee (0-3) and Kentucky (1-3) last week. Following a 3-1 win over Samford, Georgia has lost its last three matches. The Bulldogs host Mississippi on Friday, before hosting the Tide on Sunday. The Bulldogs average 12.9 kills, 1.19 aces and 2.36 blocks per set as a team.
For first year head coach Lizzy Stemke, Georgia has three players that average more than three kills per set. Kathleen Luft leads the squad with 3.15 kills per set, while Brittany Northcutt has a team-high 127 kills to average 3.02 per set. Tirah Le'au averages 3.00 kills per set, posting 90 total kills in 30 sets played. Luft ranks sixth in the SEC with 3.89 points per set, while Elena Perri ranks fifth in the conference with 1.05 blocks per set. Kathleen Gates ranks sixth in the SEC with 10.71 assists per set, and Allison Summers leads the team with 156 digs to average 3.71 per set, which is eighth in the SEC.
Sunday will mark the 45th meeting all-time between Alabama and Georgia in volleyball. The Tide leads the series 23-21, but the Bulldogs have won the last three matches in the series, winning the last two in Athens by scores of 3-1.
LOOKING BACK AT LAST WEEK
Alabama opened the 2011 Southeastern Conference schedule with an 0-2 record, following a pair of home losses to Arkansas and LSU. UA opened conference play with a 3-1 loss to Arkansas on Friday. After the Tide won the opening set, 25-21, the Razorbacks won the next three sets by scores of 25-8, 25-22 and 25-23. It was the first loss of the season at home for Alabama. On Sunday, LSU won the first two sets of the match, 26-24 and 25-15, before the Tide posted a 25-13 win in the third set. LSU closed out the match with a 25-15 fourth set victory. Alabama is now 2-4 in matches decided in four sets this season.
Other Notables From Last Week
*Kayla Fitterer led the Tide with 25 kills and added 21 total digs in the two matches. Fitterer had 11 kills and 11 digs against Arkansas and 14 kills and 10 digs against LSU for her ninth and 10th double-doubles of the season. Fitterer also added three service aces on the weekend. Fitterer leads the team with 4.32 kills per set, is second on the squad with 15 aces, and is fourth with 144 digs and 19 total blocks.
*Stephanie Riley had a pair of double-doubles with 15 assists and 10 digs against Arkansas and 18 assists and 12 digs against LSU. With 33 assists in the two matches, Riley ranks eighth all-time at Alabama with 1,558 assists. Riley also tied for the team-high with three aces for the weekend.
*Andrea McQuaid paced the Tide with 41 assists and five total blocks in the two matches last week. McQuaid notched her fourth double-double of the season with 26 assists and 10 digs against Arkansas. McQuaid leads the team with 286 assists and 16 aces and is fourth on the squad with 140 digs.
*Cristina Arenas recorded 33 digs and three aces in the two matches to lead the team in both categories.
*Kelsey Anderson had eight digs against Arkansas and LSU to give her 917 for her career to move into 10th all-time at Alabama.
*Leigh Moyer posted a season-high 10 kills with a .474 hitting percentage against Arkansas. Moyer finished the weekend with 15 kills and a team-high .355 hitting percentage.
TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND YOUTUBE
In addition to RollTide.com, Alabama volleyball can be followed on Twitter (@AlabamaVBall) and Facebook (facebook.com/AlabamaVBall). Additionally, video content will be available on the Alabama women's volleyball YouTube channel (youtube.com/AlabamaVBall).
NEXT WEEK FOR THE TIDE
After hitting the road for two SEC matches this week, Alabama will return to Foster Auditorium for conference matches against Mississippi and Mississippi State next week. UA hosts the Rebels in a midweek match on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m. The Tide wraps up week and September with a 7 p.m. match against the Bulldogs on Friday, Sept. 30.
