Volleyball Takes on Mississippi State at Foster on Friday
9/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 29, 2011
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Following a 3-1 win over the Mississippi Rebels on Wednesday night, the Alabama volleyball team (8-7, 2-3) will return to Southeastern Conference play on Friday night when it hosts Mississippi State (6-7, 1-3 SEC). First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m., at Foster Auditorium, as the Crimson Tide looks for its third straight conference victory.
The match will have a live radio broadcast available on WVUA 90.7 FM and online at WVUA-FM.ua.edu. The WVUA broadcast will also be available as part of the live video webcast on RollTide.com, through the All Access subscription plan. Livestats will also be available on RollTide.com.
At Friday's match versus Mississippi State, it is Chick-Fil-A Day, with the first 300 fans receiving coupons for a free chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A.
Mississippi State is coming off an 0-2 week that included losses at Arkansas (0-3) and LSU (0-3). The Bulldogs average 12.71 kills per set, while hitting .215 as a team to rank eighth in the SEC in both categories. Opponents are hitting .214 against MSU, while the Bulldogs average 2.32 blocks per set.
Hannah Wilkinson holds the conference's top hitting percentage at .417, as she averages 1.94 kills per set. Caitlin Rance averages 4.27 kills per set to rank third in the SEC and 26th in the nation, and Lainey Wyman adds 2.67 kills per set. In the back row, Bentley Witte leads the team with 161 total digs and provides 3.74 digs per set to rank sixth in the conference. Setter Paris Perret averages 10.40 assists per set to rank sixth in the conference.
Friday will mark the 56th meeting between Alabama and Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide leads the all-time series 40-15. Alabama has won seven of the last 10 overall, including a 3-1 win in Tuscaloosa to close the 2010 season. Alabama is 19-4 all-time in matches played at the Capstone.
Against Mississippi, Alabama dropped the opening set, then rallied to win the next three to post its first back-to-back SEC wins since winning three straight at the beginning of the 2009 conference schedule. Alabama defeated Georgia, Auburn and South Carolina to open the 2009 conference schedule.
UA got solid offensive performance from Kayla Fitterer, as the junior outside hitter finished the night with a match-high 14 kills, while posting a .344 hitting percentage. Cortney Warren added 13 kills and Andrea McQuaid missed her third triple double of the season, as she finished the night with nine kills, 21 assists and 12 digs.
