Volleyball Heads to Virginia for Cavalier Classic
9/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
THIS WEEK
Alabama continues the 2014 season with three matches in Charlottesville, Va., at the Cavalier Classic, hosted by the University of Virginia.
SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 5
vs. Navy - 3:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, Sept. 6
vs. LIU Brooklyn - 11:30 a.m. CT
at Virginia - 6 p.m. CT
SCOUTING ALABAMA
Alabama (4-0, 0-0 SEC) - The Crimson Tide are undefeated on the young season after winning four matches at the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic in St. Louis last weekend. Preseason All-SEC pick Krystal Rivers is living up to the billing, leading the team with 61 kills while also having plenty of success at the service line with a team-leading 13 aces. Alabama's freshmen have made a huge impact on the team as well, as freshman outside hitter Kat Hutson is second on the team with 45 kills while freshman middle blocker Leah Lawrence is hitting .358 with a team-leading 20 blocks. Junior setter Sierra Wilson, an AVCA All-South Region honoree last season, is at the center of the offense again this season with 181 assists and is within arm's reach of surpassing 3,000 career assists.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA SWEEPS OPENING WEEKEND IN ST. LOUIS
Alabama got its 2014 season off to strong start, going undefeated at the season-opening Marcia E. Hamilton Classic, hosted by Saint Louis University. On day one, Alabama played two four-set victories over Northern Iowa and Southeast Missouri State, splitting the first two sets in both matches before coming back to win sets three and four. The Tide's third match of the weekend was the lengthiest, as a 2-0 Alabama match lead was evened by a fiesty Memphis squad, who clawed back to force a deciding fifth set. A renewed Alabama team came out and secured the victory in the fifth, 15-12. The Tide capped off its weekend by sweeping the host Saint Louis Billikens, the team's first 3-0 victory of the season and the team's first 4-0 start since 2004.
RIVERS NAMED MVP, WILSON AND HUTSON NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT
Three members of the Crimson Tide squad made it onto the Marcia E. Hamilton All-Tournament team, including Krystal Rivers, who was named the tournament MVP. Rivers finished the weekend with 61 kills on 152 swings, averaging 3.81 kills per set. The redshirt sophomore also had a fantastic weekend at the service line, scoring 13 aces, including a career-high five aces in the win over SEMO. Sierra Wilson earned a spot on the All-Tournament team as Alabama's primary setter, pacing the offense with 181 assists (11.31 per set) while adding 34 digs and 13 blocks. Wilson earned her first double-double of the season and the 11th of her career, notching 55 assists and 10 digs against UNI. Freshman Kat Hutson had a fantastic debut weekend, slamming 45 kills (3.21 per set) with four aces, 17 digs and six blocks. In her first collegiate match, she knocked in a season-high 21 kills against UNI.
4-0 FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE `04
Alabama's 4-0 start to the season is the best for any Crimson Tide team in a decade. The last time Alabama went 4-0 to start the season was 2004, defeating Alabama A&M, College of Charleston, Xavier and Montana State. Since 2004, Alabama has posted five 3-1 starts, three 2-2 starts and one 1-3 start. Under Ed Allen, Alabama is now a combined 12-4 in its first four games.
TIDE TOPPLES ARENA RECORDS
Alabama's 4-0 weekend had lasting impact far beyond Tuscaloosa, as the Tide also broke multiple Chaifetz Arena records and nearly thretened to topple a few more along the way. Kat Hutson nearly broke the arena's kills record of 22 in the UNI match, totaling 21, but Krystal Rivers would topple the record later that weekend, slamming 23 kills in the five-set match against Memphis. The previous record of 22 had stood since 2010, set by Saint Louis' Alyssa Deno. Leah Lawrence stuffed nine blocks against SEMO, which beat the previous record of eight set by Illinois' Abby Nelson in 2008. Kryssi Daniels initially set an arena record with 25 digs against UNI but that would be surpassed later in the weekend by Saint Louis libero Anna Church, who totaled 29 against Memphis.
BAMA BLOCKERS AMONG THE BEST
In addition to a dynamic offense, Alabama's blocking up front was a key in the team's undefeated weekend. The Tide totaled 42.5 team blocks, the most through four opening games under Head Coach Ed Allen. The next-highest total was 30 in the first four games of the 2011 season. Freshman Leah Lawrence paced the team with 20 blocks, which is the most for any single player in the season's opening four games under Allen. In fact, Lawrence's 20 blocks is not far behind from the combined total of the previous three season's leaders at 29.
WILSON APPROACHING THE 3,000 CLUB
Junior setter Sierra Wilson has 2,924 career assists, which ranks fifth all-time in Alabama history. She is just 76 shy of becoming only the fifth player in school history to surpass 3,000 career assists. 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.
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. 2,924 Sierra Wilson 2012-Pres.
NEXT TIME OUT: ISTAP COLLEGIATE CUP 2 - MONTGOMERY, ALA.
Next weekend, Alabama heads south to Montgomery, Ala., and the campus of Alabama State for the ISTAP Collegiate Cup 2. There, Alabama will play three matches, beginning on Friday, Sept. 12 against Southern Miss. On Saturday, Sept. 13, the Tide get an early morning matchup against the host Hornets at 8:30 a.m. CT before concluding the weekend against Towson at 1:30 p.m. CT.
