Alabama Volleyball Faces SEC Road Tests Against Tennessee and Kentucky
10/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 1, 2015
SCOUTING ALABAMA
Alabama (7-8, 1-0 SEC) - The Crimson Tide makes its first SEC road trip of the season this weekend after playing its final non-conference match of the season Tuesday night against Alabama State, a 3-0 win for Alabama. Senior setter Sierra Wilson leads the SEC and ranks third nationally with 707 assists, while her average of 11.55 assists-per-set ranks seventh in the country. Sophomore Kat Hutson led the team in kills in three of the last four matches, and she currently leads the team with a 3.33 kills-per-set average that ranks seventh in the SEC. Junior Brittany Thomas is right behind Hutson in the SEC rankings in eighth place with a 3.21 kills-per-set average, accumulating a team-leading 196 kills over 15 starts. The Tide's defense has seen improvement both at the net and in the back row, as redshirt junior Krystal Rivers is ranked eighth in the SEC in blocks (50, 1.16/set) and sophomore Natalie Murison is ranked 10th in digs (232, 3.80/set). LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA SWEEPS ALABAMA STATE TUESDAY
Alabama hit a season-high .322 as a team Tuesday night against Alabama State, sweeping the Lady Hornets for the Crimson Tide's third three-set victory of the season. Alabama hit .322 as a team, marking the second time in the last three matches that the Tide has hit above .300. The 25-12 victory in set two is the largest margin of victory in a set for Alabama this season. Alabama State struggled to find a rhythm, hitting .037 as a team, though the Lady Hornets gave the Tide a hard-fought battle in the third set. There were five tie scores in the frame, which is more than the first two sets combined.
The offensive effort was led by Krystal Rivers, who ended the night with 10 kills and just one error on 15 swings, good for a .600 hitting percentage. Sierra Wilson paced the offense with 37 of the team's 43 assists while Kryssi Daniels and Brittany Thomas led the back-row defense with nine digs each.
standouts vs. alabama state
- Kat Hutson finished the night with a season-best .400 hitting percentage, knocking in eight kills on 15 swings with just two errors. She has hit above .300 in two of her last three matches, finishing just shy in the other at .297.
- Krystal Rivers led the team with a season-high .600 hitting percentage, posting 10 kills on 15 attempts with just one error. She has hit .500 or better four times this season, including two of the last three matches.
- Natalie Murison posted a season-high five assists in the sweep, with both of her previous season highs coming in five-set matches. Her two aces also marks the second time this season she has had multiple aces in a match.
- Tabitha Brown hit .300 in the win, marking the second time in the last four matches she has hit .300 or better.
- Sierra Wilson's 37 assists and six digs are her highest totals in a three-set match this season.
- Kryssi Daniels dug a season-high nine balls in the win, leading the team in the match.
ON THE ROAD IN THE SEC
- After winning a combined four SEC road matches in Ed Allen's first two seasons, Alabama has won five in each of the previous two years, going 5-4 in 2013 and 2014.
- This is the second-straight season in which Alabama opens its SEC road schedule against Tennessee and Kentucky.
- Alabama hasn't lost back-to-back SEC road matches since November of 2012.
- Six of Alabama's next nine matches will come away from home before finishing the season with five of its remaining eight matches at home.
BUILDING MOMENTUM
After a tough start to the season, Alabama has been building positive momentum over its past three matches, significantly improving in several categories. - Kills-per-set
- First 12 matches: 13.11/set
- Last 4 matches: 14.60/set
- Hitting Percentage
- First 12 matches: .198
- Last 4 matches: .275
- Blocks-per-set
- First 12 matches: 2.04/set
- Last 4 matches: 2.30/set
- Receiving errors
- First 12 matches: 1.07/set
- Last 4 matches: 0.80/set
WILSON CLOSING IN ON CAREER ASSISTS RECORD
With 707 assists so far this season, senior setter Sierra Wilson now has 4,979 career assists, which is just 599 shy of Brigitte Slack's (2004-07) career record of 5,578. Wilson entered the season in third place with 4,272, trailing Jennifer Miller (1989-92) in second place by just 61. The Anaheim, Calif., native finished the opening match against Long Beach State with 38 assists and then surpassed Miller's mark the next day against Cal State Fullerton with 69 assists in the lengthy five-set victory. NEXT TIME OUT: vs missouri *SEC NETWORK*
Alabama resumes play on Sunday, Oct. 11 in Tuscaloosa against Missouri (12-2, 0-1 SEC) at 4 p.m. CT. The match will air live on the SEC Network. 
Players Mentioned
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