Volleyball Heads to Montgomery for ISTAP Collegiate Cup 2
9/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
THIS WEEK
Alabama will be on the road for the final time this preseason, making a quick trip to Montgomery, Ala., for the ISTAP Collegiate Cup 2, hosted by Alabama State University.
SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 12
vs. Southern Miss - 1 p.m. CT
Saturday, Sept. 13
at Alabama State - 8:30 a.m. CT
vs. Towson - 1:30 p.m. CT
SCOUTING ALABAMA
Alabama (5-2, 0-0 SEC) - The Crimson Tide started the season 5-0, but saw its undefeated start broken at the hands of LIU Brooklyn and Virginia at last weekend's Cavalier Classic. Alabama is led offensivly by redshirt sophomore Krystal Rivers with 122 kills through 29 sets (4.21 k/s) along with a team-leading 15 service aces. Alabama has also seen plenty of production out of its freshmen, with outside hitter Kat Hutson second on the team knocking in 77 kills while Leah Lawrence has stuffed a team-leading 37 blocks and is hitting .337.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA COMPETES AT CAVALIER CLASSIC
Alabama saw its record drop to 5-2 after a 1-2 weekend in Charlottesville, Va., at the Cavalier Classic, hosted by the University of Virginia. The Crimson Tide opened its weekend on a strong note, defeating Navy in four sets to remain undefeated. The next day, a tough LIU Brooklyn squad went up 2-1 on Alabama as the Tide were on the verge of its first loss of the season. Alabama rallied to win set four convincingly, 25-12, and took a 13-10 lead in the fifth before the Blackbirds stormed back to win, 16-14, and hand the Tide its first loss. Alabama closed its weekend facing the host Virginia Cavaliers. Trailing 2-0 in the match, the Tide took set three, 25-18, but the home team dashed any hopes of a comeback with a 25-21 victory in the fourth to hand Alabama its second loss.
ALABAMA IN THE SEC STANDINGS
With a 5-2 record early in the season, Alabama is fourth in the SEC standings trailing Ole Miss (7-0), Kentucky (6-1) and Texas A&M (5-1). Alabama is tied with Ole Miss for the conference lead in hitting percentage at .255, with Georgia as the only other team hitting above .250. The Tide also lead the SEC in service aces with 29, eight more than the next best. Alabama's improved play at the net puts the Tide second in total blocks (76) and third in blocks per set (2.64). Alabama also ranks fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.168), assists per set (11.93) and kills per set (13.00).
Individually, Bruna Evangelista ranks third in the SEC with a .459 hitting percentage while Leah Lawrence is not far behind in sixth at .337. Krystal Rivers ranks third with 4.21 kills per set, is tied for the league lead with 122 total kills and leads the league with 15 aces. Sierra Wilson leads the league with 322 assists and ranks third averaging 11.10 per set. Lawrence is second overall in total blocks (37) and is fifth with 1.28 per set.
WILSON SURPASSES 3,000 CAREER ASSISTS
Last weekend, junior setter Sierra Wilson became just the fifth player in school history to surpass 3,000 career assists, doing so in the match against LIU Brooklyn. The last player to surpass 3,000 career assists for the Tide was Allison Lange (1997-2000), who ended her career with 4,215 assists. Wilson currently owns 3,065 career asssists, averaging 11.44 per set.
Alabama Career Assists Leaders
1. 5,578 Brigitte Slack 2004-07
2. 4,333 Jennifer Miller 1989-92
3. 4,215 Allison Lange 1997-2000
4. 3,506 Erin Tenbrunsel 1992-95
5. 3,065 Sierra Wilson 2012-Pres.
RIVERS HAS CAREER DAY AGAINST LIU BROOKLYN
Krystal Rivers set new career highs in pionts (32) and kills (29) in the five-set loss to LIU Brooklyn last weekend. Her 29 kills are the most scored since Kayla Fitterer knocked in on Aug. 30, 2011 against Samford. Rivers' 32 points rank eighth all-time and are the most for any Alabama player in a single match since Fitterer earned 34.5 on Nov. 7, 2010 against Kentucky. Prior to Fitterer, the last Alabama player to earn at least 32 points in a match was Erin Heffner with 37 on Oct. 10, 2004 against Arkansas.
RIVERS SETTING A POTENT PACE
With a team-leading 122 kills so far this season, Krystal Rivers is on pace to finish the regular season with around 558 kills, which would be a career-high for the redshirt sophomore, would rank eighth in Alabama single-season history and would be the most for any player since 2004. She is currently averaging 4.21 kills per set this season, which is higher than her 3.57 rate from last season.
LAWRENCE LEADING THE BLOCK PARTY
Freshman Leah Lawrence has already made an impression at the net for Alabama, leading the team with 37 blocks. She has earned at least five blocks in all but one match this season, netting a season-high nine blocks against Southeast Missouri State on opening weekend. Those nine blocks are the most for any Alabama player in a match since the 2006 season. Lawrence's total so far puts her on pace to finish the regular season with 169, which would rank second all-time at Alabama. No Tide player has earned more than 120 blocks in a season since Crystal Hudson in 2007.
NEXT TIME OUT: VS. UAB - SEPT. 16 - 7 P.M. CT - TUSCALOOSA, ALA. On Tuesday, Sept. 16, Alabama makes its home debut as the Crimson Tide welcome the UAB Blazers to Foster Auditorium at 7 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed live via the SEC Network+ though espn3.com or the WatchESPN app. Fans can also listen to the match locally on 90.7 FM or online at WVUA-FM.ua.edu.
