Volleyball to Close Preseason Play at Huskie Invitational
9/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2015
SCOUTING ALABAMA
Alabama (4-6, 0-0 SEC) - The Crimson Tide are coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Crimson White Tournament, earning wins over Troy and Virginia. The win over Troy snapped a three-match losing streak for Alabama and the weekend was the first of the season with multiple wins. Brittany Thomas has seen the majority of the offensive opportunities this season, leading the team with 144 kills (3.35/set) and 405 attacks while also ranking second in digs with 126 (2.93/set), earning double-doubles in seven of the 10 matches this season. Freshman Tabitha Brown is second on the team with 109 kills (2.09/set) and has utilized a tough jump serve to earn a team-leading 12 service aces. Senior Sierra Wilson continues to climb toward the career assists record at Alabama, owning 487 (11.3/set) so far this season to draw within just over 800 of the record. Defensively, sophomore libero Natalie Murison leads the back-row defense with 165 digs (3.84/set). LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA HOSTS CRIMSON WHITE TOURNAMENT
Last weekend, Alabama went 2-1 at the Crimson White Tournament in Foster Auditorium. Alabama started its weekend off with a sweep over Troy on Friday, Sept. 11, its second 3-0 victory of the year, hitting .244 as a team while limiting the Trojan offense to a .111 clip. Later that night, Alabama took a 2-0 match lead over Saint Louis before the Billikens came back to win three straight sets and defeat the Tide in five. Looking for its second win of the weekend, Alabama would be facing a Virginia team that suffered its own five-set loss to Saint Louis the night before in similar fashion, squandering a 2-0 match lead. The Tide and the Cavaliers split the first two sets before Alabama came out with two strong sets after intermission, hitting a combined .354 in the third and fourth sets to earn the 3-1 win. For their efforts over the weekend, Natalie Murison and Laura Steiner were named to the All-Tournament team, while Brittany Thomas, Krystal Rivers and Tabitha Brown split main duties on offense, each finishing with over 30 kills. MURISON AND STEINER EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
- As she has all season, sophomore Natalie Murison played strongly in the back row, posting 39 digs (3.25/set) over three starts at libero. Her 16 digs against Troy was her highest total of the weekend and mark her highest total in a three-set match this season. Her 165 digs this season and her average of 3.84/set rank seventh in the SEC.
- Senior Laura Steiner played in all four sets of the weekend finale against Virginia and made the most of her opportunity. The Fort Collins, Colo., native went error-free with 11 kills on 21 swings, finishing the match with a career-best .524 hitting percentage. Her 11 kills was her highest kill total in a match since knocked in 16 against Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament in the final match of the 2013 season.
OTHER STANDOUTS FROM WEEK TWO
- Junior Brittany Thomas led the team with 39 kills (3.25/set) and was second in digs with 36 (3.00/set). She earned double-doubles in the matches against Saint Louis (15K/14D) and Virginia (16K/15D). She now has double-doubles in seven of the 10 matches this season, putting her three away from her total from the entire 2014 season.
- Krystal Rivers tallied 31 kills (2.58/set) in three starts over the weekend, including 14 against Virginia, her highest total in a four-set match this season. Her .533 hitting percentage against Troy is a season high, as she went error-free with eight kills on 15 swings. Rivers showed strong defensive ability as well, stuffing a team-leading 14 blocks, four solo and 10 assisted.
- Tabitha Brown continued her strong freshman campaign on offense, tying Rivers' total with 31 kills (2.58/set) while also leading the team at the service line with six aces. After connecting with three aces against the College of Charleston in the finale of the Hampton Inn Bama Bash, she repeated the feat in the opener of the Crimson White Tournament against Troy. Her 12 service aces this season is the fourth-highest total of any player in the SEC.
CHICAGO HOMECOMING
- This weekend's trip to DeKalb is a homecoming trip of sorts for sophomore Natalie Murison, who hails from Woodridge, Ill., which is about 45 miles from DeKalb.
- The trip will also give families of two other Tide players an opportunity to see Alabama play a bit closer to home, as Emily Stebbins (Carmel, Ind.) and Quincey Gary (Alexandria, Ind.) both are under 250 miles from DeKalb.
- Alabama's opening weekend in California provided a homecoming opportunity for southern California natives Brooke Feld (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Sierra Wilson (Anaheim, Calif.).
WILSON CLOSING IN ON CAREER ASSISTS RECORD
With 487 assists so far this season, senior setter Sierra Wilson now has 4,759 career assists, which is just 819 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. MISSISSIPPI STATE
Alabama begins SEC play on Wednesday, Sept. 23 in Tuscaloosa against Mississippi State (7-3) at 7 p.m. CT in Foster Auditorium. The match will be aired live on the SEC Network. 
Players Mentioned
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