Volleyball to Host LSU Sunday at Foster Auditorium
9/27/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ALABAMA NOTES | LSU NOTES | SEC NOTES
THIS WEEK
Alabama (13-2, 1-0) continues SEC play on Sunday, Sept. 28, welcoming in the LSU Tigers (5-5, 0-1 SEC) for a 1 p.m. CT match at Foster Auditorium
THE TIDE ON THE AIR
Video - SEC Network + on WatchESPN.com or the WatchESPN app
Audio - WVUA 90.7 FM or wvuafm.ua.edu
SCOUTING ALABAMA
Alabama (13-2, 1-0 SEC) - Nearing the halfway point of the regular season, Alabama finds itself at the top of the SEC with one of the conference's most potent and versatile offenses. Krystal Rivers, the SEC Offensive Player of the Week, leads the team and ranks second in the SEC with 237 kills (4.23/set) and 289.5 points. Many of those points have come off the service line, as she leads the SEC and ranks 12th nationally with 29 service aces (0.52/set). Freshman Kat Hutson and sophomore Brittany Thomas have also earned triple-digit kills this season, slamming 170 (3.33/set) and 138 (2.46/set), respectively, while Thomas is also second on the team with 131 digs (2.34/set). Freshman libero Natalie Murison leads the back-row defense with 142 digs (2.54/set), while freshman Leah Lawrence and junior Bruna Evangelista have paired up for a combined 107 blocks and are hitting .341 and .370, respectively.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA WINS SEC OPENER OVER GEORGIA
Alabama Volleyball impressed in its conference debut on the SEC Network, downing the Georgia Bulldogs in four sets for the Crimson Tide's eighth-straight victory. Alabama and Georgia played a very even match, with some late points in the third and fourth sets ultimately making the difference for the Crimson Tide. Krystal Rivers led the offense with 22 kills, adding 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Kat Hutson also earned double-digit kills with 14, while Sierra Wilson paced the offense with 52 assists. Leah Lawrence stuffed a team-leading five blocks at the net and Natalie Murison handled 14 digs in the back row.
TIDE STRETCHES WINNING STREAK TO EIGHT-STRAIGHT
With the win over Georgia, Alabama has stretched its current winning streak to eight-straight matches. Alabama has made a habit of putting together impressive winning streaks under Head Coach Ed Allen, as the Tide are two wins shy of its fourth-straight season with a double-digit winning streak. Allen's squad started the streak in 2011 with an 11-match win streak and continued it in 2012 with 10-straight and 2013 with 10-straight. Prior to 2011, the last double-digit winning streak for Alabama came in 2005, where they won 13-straight.
OPENING THE SEC
Over the last 10 seasons, Alabama is 6-4 in SEC openers with identical 3-2 records at home and on the road. This season's match at Georgia was the first road SEC opener for Alabama since 2010, when the Tide lost to Ole Miss. Prior to 2014, the last time the Tide opened SEC play on the road and won was in 2007 with a sweep at Tennessee. A win over LSU on Sunday would give Alabama its first 2-0 SEC start since 2009.
Krystal Rivers NAMED SEC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt sophomore Krystal Rivers has been named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week after leading Alabama in kills last week as the MVP of the Crimson-White Tournament. Rivers led the team with 67 kills over four matches last week while hitting .368 at the right side. She hit a season-high .615 in Tuesday's win over UAB, leading the team with 17 kills. In Friday's four-set win over San Diego State, she earned her third double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs while also adding a season-high seven blocks. In the weekend finale against Clemson, she knocked in 22 kills, her most in a four-set match this season.
THOMAS AND WILSON NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
In addition to Rivers as the MVP of the Crimson-White Tournament, sophomore outside hitter Brittany Thomas and junior Sierra Wilson were both named to the All-Tournament team. Thomas finished the weekend with 33 kills (3.00/set), 25 digs, six blocks and a team-leading five service aces. Wilson paced the Tide offense, distributing 124 assists (11.2/set) while adding 19 digs and a pair of service aces. This is the second All-Tournament honor for Thomas this preseason as she was also named to the ISTAP Collegiate Cup 2 All-Tournament team following three wins in Montgomery, Ala. Wilson also made the All-Tournament team in Montgomery and was named to the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic All-Tournament team in the opening weekend of the season.
NEXT TIME OUT: ALABAMA HEADS TO KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE
Next weekend, Alabama plays a pair of road matches, taking on No. 14 Kentucky (11-2, 1-0) on Friday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. CT before facing Tennessee (7-7, 0-0 SEC) on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 1:30 p.m.
