Volleyball Concludes Home Stand Hosting Auburn Friday
11/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
THE MATCHUP
Alabama (22-6, 10-4 SEC) wraps up its three-match home stand hosting Auburn (12-15, 4-10 SEC) on Friday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. CT.
THE TIDE ON THE AIR
Video - SEC Network + (WatchESPN app or WatchESPN.com)
Audio - WVUA 90.7 FM (wvua.fm.edu)
PROMOTIONS
Girl Scout Night
SCOUTING ALABAMA
Alabama (22-6, 10-4 SEC) - With four matches remaining in the regular season, Alabama is currently fourth in the SEC but is within arm's reach of second-place Kentucky at 12-3 or third-place LSU at 11-4. As a team, Alabama ranks third in the SEC in hitting percentage (.260), second in opponent hitting percentage (.195) and aces (161, 1.49/set) and fourth in assists (1358, 12.57/set) and kills (1488, 13.78/set). Individually, Sierra Wilson leads the SEC and ranks sixth nationally with 1,254 assists (11.61/set) as the only setter in the SEC with over 1,200 assists this season. Alabama is the only team in the SEC with two hitters that rank in the top five in kills, as Krystal Rivers is second (454, 4.20/set) and Kat Hutson is fourth (388, 3.77/set) in the conference.
LAST TIME OUT: VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS GEORGIA FOR 10TH HOME WIN
Alabama extended its record to 22-6, following a 3-0 win over Georgia Sunday afternoon at Foster Auditorium. In the victory, Alabama hit .326 as a team while holding Georgia to a .107 clip. Alabama's best hitting percentage came in set three at .346 to close out the sweep. The Crimson Tide dominated the entire match, as Georgia's only lead of the match was a 1-0 lead in the second set. Leading the way for the Tide individually were Kat Hutson, Brittany Thomas, and Krystal Rivers with 10 kills each. Hutson and Thomas posted a .348 hitting percentage, while Rivers added a team-leading seven digs. Sierra Wilson led the team with 30 assists, which puts her just three assists away from reaching 4,000 career assists. Leah Lawrence knocked in six kills while adding a season-high three service aces.
FOSTERING A WINNER
Alabama's win over Georgia on Sunday stretched the Tide's home record this season to 10-1, marking the third-straight season with at least 10 home wins. The .909 winning percentage at home is currently the highest mark in school history, leading the previous record of .846 set in 2004 when the Tide were 11-2 at home. If Alabama wins its remaining two home games to finish the season 12-1 at home, the 12 wins would be the third most at home in school history.
WILSON THREE AWAY FROM 4,000
Junior setter Sierra Wilson is just three assists shy of hitting 4,000 career assists, which would make her just the fourth player in Alabama history to do so. Earlier this season, Wilson became just the fifth player in school history to surpass 3,000 career assists and later she moved into fourth in school history. Now, she is just 170 assists away from moving into the top three, as she owns 3,997 career assists, which trails Allison Lange (1997-00) in third place at 4,166. Averaging 11.66 assists-per-set so far this season, Wilson has a chance to surpass her previous single-season best of 1,450 from last season, which ranks second in school history, and even the school record of 1,484 set by Kenna Milner in 2002.
VOLLEYBALL INKS THREE DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
Alabama has signed three national letters of intent during the early signing period, as Tabitha Brown, Quincey Gary and Shannon Mikesky are set to join Alabama Volleyball during the 2015 season.
Tabitha Brown hails from Spring, Texas, where she starred at Klein Collins High School as a four-year starting outside hitter. She was listed in this year's PrepVolleyball.com All-American Top 50 Volleyball Prospects and PrepVolleyball Senior Aces Top 100. She was a 2014 Under Armour Honorable Mention All-American and was named District MVP for the second-straight season. Quincey Gary, native of Alexandria, Ind., played club volleyball with the prestigious Munciana Volleyball Club under Mike Lingenfelter and was also a three-time AAU All-American. At Pendleton Heights High School, Gary was All-County and All-Conference during all four years and was a two-time All-State honoree. Shannon Mikesky is a 6'0" setter out of Schulenburg, Texas, who helped lead Schulenburg High School to a state runner-up finish in 2012 and 2013, earning All-State setter and All-Tournament Team awards in each of those seasons. In 2013, Schulenburg competed in the Tour of Texas Qualifier and won the Cross Court Classic. She played club volleyball with TEXSTAR and competed in the AAU Volleyball Tournament in 2013.
ALABAMA RECEIVING VOTES IN AVCA POLL, NO. 28 IN RPI
Two home sweeps last weekend helped Alabama move up one spot in the AVCA coaches' poll, receiving 16 votes to place eight spots outside the Top 25. Alabama is one of three SEC teams to appear in the coaches poll, as LSU dropped out this week after a loss to Mississippi State last weekend. This is the sixth poll this season in which Alabama has received votes. The Crimson Tide retained its No. 28 ranking in the NCAA RPI this week. Alabama is the fourth SEC team on the list, trailing Florida (7), Kentucky (13) and Texas A&M (19).
2014 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- The sweep over Georgia on Sunday, No. 16 marked the 10th home victory of the season for Alabama, giving the Tide three-straight seasons with at least 10 wins at home.
- Alabama's 3-2 win over South Carolina on Nov. 9 was the team's 20th of the season, giving the Tide back-to-back 20 win seasons for the first time since 2004-05 and just the fourth time in program history.
- Alabama defeated No. 23 Texas A&M, 3-2, on Oct. 31, earning the team's first Top 25 win since 2007 and the team's first Top 25 win over an SEC opponent since 2006.
- Kat Hutson was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Nov. 3 for her performance against Texas A&M. It was her first career weekly conference honor and the fourth overall for Alabama this season.
- Krystal Rivers was named Preseason All-SEC, earned back-to-back SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 22 and Sept. 29 and then a third time on Oct. 27.
- Alabama received Top 25 votes for the first time in school history on Sept. 29, appearing five spots outside the Top 25 in the Week Five AVCA poll.
- Alabama set a new Foster Auditorium volleyball attendance record vs. LSU on Sept. 28, as 1,749 fans packed in to watch the Crimson Tide defeat the Tigers in four sets. This beats the previous record of 1,670 set on Sept. 14, 2012 against LSU.
- The Tide won three tournament titles during the preseason, winning the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic on opening weekend in St. Louis, the ISTAP Collegiate Cup 2 in Montgomery, Ala., and the Crimson-White Tournament in Tuscaloosa.
- Alabama returns nine players from last year's squad while welcoming eight newcomers.
NEXT TIME OUT: ALABAMA AT OLE MISS
Alabama concludes its weekend with a road trip to Oxford, Miss., to take on the Ole Miss Rebels (20-8, 6-8 SEC) on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 1:30 p.m. CT. This will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams, as the Rebels defeated the Tide, 3-2, earlier this season in Tuscaloosa.
