Alabama
Virginia Tech
Alabama Volleyball Continues Season With Three Matches in Puerto Rico
8/31/2016 10:49:00 AM | Volleyball
THIS WEEK: PUERTO RICO CLASICO
Bayamon, Puerto Rico - Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez
Thursday, Sept. 1 vs. Virginia Tech - 4:30 p.m. CT
Friday, Sept. 2 vs. Florida State - 4:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, Sept. 3 vs. Temple - 2 p.m. CT
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SCOUTING ALABAMA (3-1)
- Alabama won its home opener on Tuesday night against Samford in straight sets, stretching its record to 3-1 following a 2-1 start at the Hurricane Classic in Tulsa, Okla., last weekend.
- Tuesday's win stretches Alabama's all-time home record to 338-169 (.667), including a 35-10 (.778) mark over the last three seasons. Alabama has won its home opener in each of the last eight seasons, a streak that started in 2009.
- For their efforts over the weekend, redshirt senior Krystal Rivers and junior Leah Lawrence were named to the Hurricane Classic All-Tournament team.
- Six newcomers made their Crimson Tide debut at the Hurricane Classic: Abolanle Onipede, Kennedy Robinson, Jennifer Casillas, Alexa Tomlak, Mahalia Swink and Hayley McSparin.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA SWEEPS SAMFORD IN HOME OPENER
Alabama volleyball only needed three sets to win its 2016 home opener against Samford Tuesday night at Foster Auditorium, sweeping the Bulldogs by scores 25-20, 25-14 and 25-22. Alabama was led offensively by Krystal Rivers with 14 kills, her fourth-straight match in double figures. Rivers had two of the team's five service aces, tying a season high for the team from the service line. Samford was limited to a .050 team hitting percentage, with Kate Neisler and T.J. Russell as its only players with a positive hitting percentage.
INDIVIDUAL STANDOUTS VS. SAMFORD
- For the fourth-straight match, Krystal Rivers led the team in kills, slamming 14 over three sets. She leads the SEC with 79 kills and a 4.94 kills-per-set average.
- Redshirt freshman Shannon Mikesky made her fourth start of the season at setter, increasing her season total to 184 assists with the three-set win. It is the highest assists total in the SEC and her 11.50 assists-per-set average ranks second.
- Freshman Hayley McSparin continues to play well in her debut season with the Crimson Tide, hitting .417 with six kills against the Bulldogs. She has hit above .360 in three of her four appearances, including .400-plus performances against Tulsa (Aug. 26) and Samford (Aug. 30).
ED ALLEN ONE SHY OFÂ 100 WINS AT ALABAMA
With the win over Samford, head coach Ed Allen increased his career record at Alabama to 99-68, just one shy of 100 wins. Currently in his sixth season with the program, Allen broke school records for single-season wins in back-to-back seasons, winning 24 in 2013 before totaling 26 in 2014. Allen is also just seven wins away from his 600th career win.
NEXT TIME OUT: HAMPTON INN BAMA BASH
Next weekend, Alabama returns to Tuscaloosa to host the Hampton Inn Bama Bash, the first of two preseason tournaments in Foster Auditorium. The Tide will play three matches over two days, starting with Northwestern State on Friday, Sept. 9 at 10 a.m. CT and Southern Miss later that night at 7 p.m. CT. Alabama concludes play against Lehigh on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. CT.
