Alabama
Arkansas
Alabama Volleyball Continues SEC Play at Arkansas and Ole Miss
10/20/2016 12:53:00 PM | Volleyball
THIS WEEKEND
Friday, Oct. 21 at Arkansas (3-16, 1-6 SEC)
7 p.m. CT - Fayetteville, Ark. - Barnhill Arena
SEC Network+ (Online Only)
Sunday, Oct. 23 at Ole Miss (12-9, 1-7 SEC)
1:30 p.m. CT - Oxford, Miss. - The Pavilion
SEC Network+ (Online Only)
FOLLOW THE TIDE
- Live Video: SEC Network+ (Online Only)
- Live Stats: rolltide.com
- Twitter: @AlabamaVBall
SCOUTING ALABAMA (14-6, 3-4 SEC)
- Alabama split its two matches last week at home, defeating Mississippi State in four sets on Wednesday before falling in five sets to Missouri on Sunday.
- Krystal Rivers' career kills total now sits at 1,904 which is 186 shy of Erin Heffner's (2001-04) career record of 2,090. Rivers is averaging 5.84 kills per set this season, which is the highest rate of her career and currently ranks second all-time at Alabama. Her career average is at 4.31 kills per set, which is also third in Tide history.
- Rivers leads the SEC in kills (461, 5.84/set) and is seventh in service aces (26, 0.33/set) while Shannon Mikesky ranks fourth in assists (839, 10.90/set).
- Alabama's team hitting percentage of .244 ranks sixth all-time at Alabama. Among the top six team hitting percentages in program history, three of those have come under Ed Allen, including the fourth-place mark of .254 set in 2013 and the school-record mark of .264 set in 2014.
THE OPPONENTS
Arkansas Razorbacks
- Southeastern Conference
- 2016 Record: 3-16 (1-6 SEC)
- Head Coach: Jason Watson (First Season)
- Record at Arkansas: 3-16 (.158)
Arkansas Stat Leaders
- Attack pct. – Harbin/Jones - .221
- Kills - Danielle Harbin - 281
- Assists - Rachel Rippee - 549
- Digs - Okiana Valle - 277
- Blocks - Ana Sofia Jusino - 64
- Aces - Rachel Rippee – 17
Ole Miss Rebels
- Southeastern Conference
- 2016 Record: 12-9 (1-7 SEC)
- Head Coach: Steven McRoberts (Third Season)
- Record at Ole Miss: 56-30 (.651)
Ole Miss Stat Leaders
- Attack pct. - Kathryn Cather - .357
- Kills - Kate Gibson - 301
- Assist - Aubrey Edie - 892
- Digs - Nicole Purcell - 271
- Blocks - Taylor Alexander - 80
- Aces - Lexi Thompson - 18
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA DROPS FIVE-SET CONTEST TO MISSOURI
- Missouri 3, Alabama 2: Alabama volleyball won the first two sets of Sunday's contest against Missouri but the Tigers rallied to win three-straight and complete the comeback to win the match, 3-2. Alabama won the first two sets, 25-16 and 25-23, and led 23-19 late in the third set but Missouri came back to win in extra points, 27-25, and claim the next two sets, 25-20 and 15-12, to complete the comeback. This was the Tide's eighth five-set match of the season and the fourth-straight between Alabama and Missouri. Individually, Krystal Rivers led the offensive effort with 32 kills while Hayley McSparin hit a career-best .688 with 11 kills on 16 swings with no errors. Rivers and Brittany Thomas both notched double-doubles in the match while Shannon Mikesky finished one dig shy with 53 assists and nine digs.
MISSOURI MATCH SUPERLATIVES
- Krystal Rivers' 32 kills in the match marks her fourth 30-plus kill performance of the season and the fifth of her career. Her five career matches with 30-plus kills ties her with Nina Foster (1994-95) for the most in program history. Foster is also the only player besides Rivers to have four matches with 30-plus kills in the same season, doing so in 1994. Rivers earned her 32 kills against Missouri on a career-high 80 swings, the most for any Alabama player since Kayla Fitterer had 82 against South Carolina on Nov. 16, 2012. It is just the seventh time a Tide player has had at least 80 attack attempts in a match.
- Leah Lawrence posted an ace for the fourth-straight match, giving her 10 in her last four matches. Prior to this streak, Lawrence only had seven for the entire season. Her longest career streak of consecutive matches with at least one ace is six, which she hit in each of previous two seasons. She first did so in the first six appearances of her career from Aug. 29-Sept. 6, 2014 and repeated the feat as a sophomore from Oct. 16-Nov. 1, 2015.
RIVERS IN THE RECORD BOOKS
As Krystal Rivers nears the end of her Crimson Tide career, the fifth-year senior is poised to finish among the top 10 in numerous career categories at Alabama. With 1,904 kills, she is 186 away from tying Erin Heffner's (2001-04) school record of 2,090. Similarly, she is only 172.5 points away from tying Heffner's career record of 2,391.5.
Krystal Rivers Career Rankings at Alabama
- Kills - 2nd (1,904)
- Points - 2nd (2,219)
- Kills per set - 3rd (4.31)
- Points per set - 3rd (5.02)
- Attacks - 3rd (4,110)
- Attack Percent - 5th (.322)
- Solo Blocks - 5th (66)
- Block Assists - 7th (270)
- Total Blocks - 8th (336)
MOVING UP THE CAREER RANKING
In addition to Rivers, multiple other Tide teammates are moving up the career rankings:
- Junior Natalie Murison is currently seventh all-time at Alabama with 1,126 digs over 343 sets played. She is just 15 shy of moving to sixth place and 19 shy of tying former teammate Kryssi Daniels (2012-15) in fifth place with 1,145. Murison is also ranked seventh all-time with 3.28 digs per set.
- Senior Brittany Thomas is closing in on the top 10 kills list, currently sitting in 13th with 1,239. Eight more kills would move her to 12th and 18 more would move her to 11th. With 11 matches remaining in the regular season, she is just 50 shy of tying Nina Foster (1994-95) for 10th all-time with 1,289 kills. Thomas is also ninth on the attack attempts list with 3,515. Thomas is also currently ranked eighth all-time with 1,072 digs and cracking the top 10 in kills would make her the sixth player in program history to rank in the top 10 in both categories, the first since Bridget Fuentez (2004-07).
- Junior Leah Lawrence is just outside the top 10 in three blocking categories, ranking 12th in total blocks (279), 13th in solo blocks (47) and 13th in block assists (232).
- Not even through her first full season as the Tide's starting setter, redshirt freshman Shannon Mikesky already sits at No. 13 in the Tide career assists rankings with 839, doing so in the fewest sets of any player in the top 20. The high pace puts her in fifth place with 10.90 assists per set, just behind her predecessor Sierra Wilson (2012-15) in fourth place at 11.59.
ALABAMA IN SEC PLAY UNDER ED ALLEN
Alabama has seen unprecedented success in the SEC under head coach Ed Allen, posting double-digit win totals in each of the last three years, the longest such stretch in program history. Prior to Allen's arrival in 2011, Alabama had only won 10 or more games in conference play six times since the program was reinstated in 1989. With 49 SEC wins, Allen is just one win away from his 50th conference victory. Former head coach Judy Green (1996-2010) is the only other coach in program history with at least 50 conference wins, though she did not hit that mark until her eighth season, while Allen is currently in his sixth.
ALABAMA IN THE RPI
Alabama is ranked No. 42 in the latest RPI rankings, released Tuesday by the NCAA. The Tide is ranked fifth among SEC teams, trailing Florida (8), Kentucky (18), Missouri (22) and Texas A&M (37). Alabama has faced eight teams ranked in this week's top 100, including wins over Texas A&M (37), Temple (66), South Dakota (92) and Southern Miss (96).
NEXT TIME OUT: vs. TENNESSEE / NO. 21 KENTUCKY
Friday, Oct. 28 vs. Tennessee (13-7, 3-4 SEC) - 6 p.m. CT
Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Foster Auditorium (SEC Network)
Sunday, Oct. 30 vs. No. 21 Kentucky (15-4, 8-0 SEC) - 1:30 p.m. CT
Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Foster Auditorium
