Alabama
Florida International
Volleyball Stretches Winning Streak to Six Matches
9/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama stretched its current winning streak to six-straight matches with a pair of wins on day one of the Crimson-White Tournament Friday, sweeping FIU and downing San Diego State in four sets.
Alabama (11-2) earned its fourth-straight sweep in the day's opener against FIU (3-9) but had to battle against a resilient San Diego State (3-6) squad for four sets in the nightcap. Between the two matches, Krystal Rivers notched 28 kills while Brittany Thomas was close behind with 23 kills, a .354 hitting percentage and four aces. Sierra Wilson totaled 73 assists, averaging 10.4 per set, while Natalie Murison and Kryssi Daniels paired up to cover the back row with 43 combined digs.
MATCH ONE: ALABAMA 3, FIU 0
Alabama opened its home tournament on an impressive note, sweeping FIU for its ninth win of the season. The sweep was Alabama's fifth-straight, as the Crimson Tide downed FIU by scores of 25-19, 25-16 and 25-21. Krystal Rivers led the Tide in kills, notching 15 with a .310 clip. Kat Hutson also hit above .300, slamming nine kills with a .304 hitting percentage. At the net, Bruna Evangelista led the way with four blocks while Brittany Thomas fell just shy of a double-double, finishing with seven kills and nine digs.
FIU would hold the lead twice before Alabama tied up the opening set, 7-7, and started to pull away, using a 12-8 run to pull ahead 19-15, capped by three-straight points, as the Panthers took a timeout. Alabama would maintain the four-point lead, 21-17, and a kill by Rivers made it a five-point game as FIU burned its second timeout. Another kill later by Rivers made it set point, 24-18, and a block by FIU shrunk the lead to five points but Hutson sealed the set with a kill to give Alabama the 25-19 win and the early 1-0 match lead.
Alabama would take the first lead of set two and would hold the lead for the entirety of the frame. The Tide built an early five-point lead, 8-3, as the Panthers looked to regroup with an early timeout. Alabama continued to dominate out of the break, pulling ahead by double digits, 18-6, as FIU took its last timeout. The Panthers would narrow the lead, drawing within seven points down 23-16, but a kill by Leah Lawrence and an FIU attack error ended it as Alabama won the set, 25-16, to take a 2-0 match lead.
Eyeing its fifth-straight sweep, Alabama battled back and forth with FIU in the early stages of set three. Tied at 11-11, the Tide strung a 7-3 run together to pull ahead 18-14 as the Panthers took a timeout. Each team would score three points out of the break to make the score 21-17 and Rivers knocked in her 14th kill of the day to make it 22-17 as FIU burned its final timeout. Alabama would reach match point leading by four, 24-20, and a kill by FIU briefly kept the visitors alive but Rivers' 15th kill of the day ended it, giving Alabama the 25-21 victory and its fifth-straight sweep.
MATCH TWO: ALABAMA 3, SAN DIEGO STATE 1
After three very tightly-contested sets against San Diego State, Alabama ended the match emphatically with a dominant fourth set to secure the 3-1 victory. Rivers earned her third double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs, while Thomas finished just two digs shy of the same feat, earning a match-leading 16 kills along with eight digs. Leah Lawrence posted a personal-best three solo blocks, adding five block assists to lead the match with eight blocks.
The teams were very evenly-matched in the opening half of set one, with neither able to take more than a three-point lead. Tied at 16-16, a kill by Rivers and a pair of kills by Hutson helped the Tide make a 4-1 run to take a three-point lead, 20-17, as San Diego State took its first timeout. After trading points, Alabama scored three unanswered to reach set point, 24-18, but back-to-back points for the Aztecs cut the lead to just four points, 24-20. San Diego State ended the match in Alabama's favor as the Aztecs sent a serve into the net to give Alabama the 25-20 victory.
The Aztecs scored the first point of set two and would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the frame. The visitors surged ahead to a 10-4 lead as Alabama took an early timeout and San Diego State continued to push ahead, doubling-up the Tide 14-7 as the Tide quickly burned its second timeout just past the halfway point of the set. Alabama regained its footing a bit, battling back to make it a three-point game, trailing 18-15 as San Diego State took a timeout. That was as close as Alabama would get to San Diego State however, as the visitors closed out the set to win, 25-19, and even the match at 1-1.
The Aztecs carried the momentum into the fourth set, holding a slim edge over the Tide throughout the first half of the frame. Alabama would tie the match five times before finally taking its first lead of the set, 15-14, off a kill by Thomas. San Diego State evened the match with a kill but back-to-back points for the Tide made it a 17-15 game as the Aztecs took a timeout. Now, it was Alabama's turn to hold the other team at arm's length, not allowing the visitors to take the lead despite two tie scores as San Diego State took its final timeout trailing 22-20. A kill by Rivers would bring up set point, 24-21, and another kill by Rivers would end it as Alabama won, 25-21, and took a 2-1 match advantage.
The fourth set was the most dominant of the match, as Alabama hit .400 as a team en route to the 14-point victory. Leading 3-1, Alabama would score five unanswered points before San Diego State earned its second point, making the score 8-2. The Tide kept widening the gap, eventually taking a double-digit lead up 17-7 as San Diego State took a timeout. Alabama's momentum could not be stopped in the closing stages, as the visitors would only score four more points in the remainder of the match. A San Diego State attack error set up match point, 24-11, and Thomas capped the win dramatically with a service ace to win the set, 25-11, and the match, 3-1.
Alabama wraps up the weekend with a 7 p.m. CT match tomorrow against the Clemson Tigers (10-1).
