Alabama Volleyball Set to Host Crimson White Tournament

Sept. 10, 2015

SCOUTING ALABAMA

Alabama (2-5, 0-0 SEC) - The Crimson Tide will be looking to right the ship after a tough weekend at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash that saw Alabama lose its final three games after winning its opener, giving the team its first 2-5 start since 2009. Offensively, junior Brittany Thomas has seen the vast majority of the swings, connecting on a team-leading 105 kills (3.39/set) along with 90 digs (2.90/set), which ranks second on the team behind sophomore libero Natalie Murison at 126 (4.06/set). Alabama has two players ranked in the SEC's top 10 for kills-per-set, as Thomas is sixth followed by Kat Hutson in ninth with 3.35/set (67). Senior setter Sierra Wilson is second in the SEC with 359 assists (11.5/set) and is now less than 1,000 assists shy of the Alabama career record.

ALABAMA VS. THE OPPONENTS

1-2 vs. Virginia

First Meeting: Sept. 1, 1990 (Washington, D.C. - Georgetown Tournament)
Alabama 3, Virginia 0
Last Meeting: Sept. 6, 2014 (Charlottesville, Va. - Cavalier Classic)
Virginia 3, Alabama 1

10-2 vs. Troy

First Meeting: Oct. 30, 1974 (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
Troy 2, Alabama 1
Last Meeting: Sept. 21, 2013 (Clemson, S.C. - Clemson Classic)
Alabama 3, Troy 1

3-3 vs. Saint Louis

First Meeting: Oct. 28, 1977 (Carbondale, Ill. - Southern Illinois Invitational)
Alabama 2, Saint Louis 0
Last Meeting: Aug. 30, 2014 (St. Louis, Mo. - Marcia E. Hamilton Classic)
Alabama 3, Saint Louis 0

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA HOSTS THE BAMA BASH

Last weekend, Alabama made its 2015 Foster Auditorium debut hosting the Hampton Inn Bama Bash. The Tide got things started on Friday, Sept. 4 with a three-set sweep over Northwestern State, hitting a season-high .260 as a team to move the record back to .500 at 2-2. In Friday's finale against Tulsa, Alabama overcame a 2-1 match deficit with a commanding 25-15 win in set four, forcing a fifth set. A back-and-forth fifth set ultimately ended with Tulsa edging out Alabama, 15-12. The Tide's two matches the following day against Southern Miss and the College of Charleston followed a nearly identical script, seeing the Tide come back from 2-1 match deficits but ultimately falling in the fifth set.

WILSON CLOSING IN ON ASSISTS RECORD

With 359 assists so far this season, senior setter Sierra Wilson now has 4,631 career assists, which is just 947 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.

SUPER STARTERS

Alabama has had four players start every match and play in every set so far this season. Brittany Thomas, Sierra Wilson, Leah Lawrence and Natalie Murison have been on the court for all 31 sets this season.
Freshman Tabitha Brown is just one set shy playing every set, as she has started all seven matches but only played in 30 sets.
Sierra Wilson has missed just two sets over her entire career at Alabama, playing all 119 sets as a freshman and all 133 as a junior. Her only absences were two sets in 2012.
Brittany Thomas has been on the court for all but one set during her career at Alabama, logging a total of 285 so far. In her freshman season, she was on the floor for all six rotations during the entire year.
Natalie Murison was on the court during every set last season as a freshman while Leah Lawrence was present for 126 of the 133.

STANDOUTS FROM WEEK TWO

After starting playing just one set on opening weekend, sophomore Kat Hutson started all four matches in week two and led the team with 66 kills (3.67/set) and five service aces. She tied a career high with 60 attacks and two solo blocks in the weekend finale against the College of Charleston.
Sophomore Emily Stebbins made the most out of her first career start on Saturday night against the College of Charleston, finishing the match with a team-leading .407 hitting percentage with 14 kills. Stebbins wouldn't commit a hitting error until the fourth set, as she owned an astounding .867 hitting percentage (13K, 0E, 15TA) through the first three sets.
Junior Brittany Thomas continued to show her strong mix of offensive and defensive capabilities from the outside, finishing second on the team in kills (60, 3.33/set) and digs (50, 2.78/set). She earned double-doubles in three of the weekend's four matches, bringing her season total to five. She is already halfway to matching her total of 10 from last season.

NEXT TIME OUT: HUSKIE INVITATIONAL

Next weekend, Alabama concludes the preseason schedule in DeKalb, Ill., at the Huskie Invitational, hosted by Northern Illinois. The Tide will play three matches starting on Friday, Sept. 18 against Western Kentucky at 11 a.m. CT and the host NIU Huskies at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 19, Alabama will close out the weekend facing Northern Iowa at 1:30 p.m.

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