Alabama
East Tennessee State
Alabama Volleyball Continues Home Stand with Crimson-White Tournament
9/15/2016 11:09:00 AM | Volleyball
THIS WEEK
HAMPTON INN CRIMSON-WHITE TOURNAMENT
Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Foster Auditorium
Friday, Sept. 16 vs. ETSU (6-3) - 7 p.m. CT
Saturday, Sept. 17 vs. Presbyterian (2-8) - 11 a.m. CT
Saturday, Sept. 17 vs. Georgia Southern (6-6) - 7 p.m. CT
FOLLOW THE TIDE
- Live Video: SEC Network+ (online only)
- Live Stats: rolltide.com
- Twitter: @AlabamaVBall
SCOUTING ALABAMA (8-2)
- Alabama improved its record to 8-2 after a 3-0 weekend at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash that included wins over Northwestern State, Southern Miss and Lehigh.
- For their efforts over the weekend, Kat Hutson and Natalie Murison were named to the Bama Bash All-Tournament team while Krystal Rivers was named the Tournament MVP.
- Senior Krystal Rivers was named SEC Player of the Week for the second-straight week, tying her with Erin Heffner for the most weekly conference honors in program history (5). Rivers led the team with 59 kills last weekend, including a career-best 38 in the five-set win over Southern Miss.
- This weekend continues what will be an eight-match home stand for the Crimson Tide that wraps up next week with home contests against Texas A&M and Florida. The eight-match home stand is the longest for Alabama since 1999.
- Head Coach Ed Allen is just two wins away from his 600th career win, encompassing a 25-year career with coaching stops at Alabama, Tulsa, Presbyterian and Anderson University. Two weeks ago, Allen earned his 100th win at Alabama with a win over Virginia Tech at the Puerto Rico Clasico.
LAST TIME OUT: HAMPTON INN BAMA BASH
- Alabama 3, Northwestern State 1: Alabama volleyball opened its weekend at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash with a four-set win over Northwestern State, winning by scores of 25-17, 25-17, 24-26 and 25-19. The Tide got off to a 2-0 match lead before the Demons avoided the sweep with a 26-24 win in the third. The Lady Demons started the fourth set with a big lead but the Tide managed to battle back and win the fourth, 25-19. Hutson led all players with 11 kills while Leah Lawrence was close behind with 10 and a .350 hitting percentage. Mikesky notched her third double-double of the season, finishing the match with 37 assists and 10 digs.
- Alabama 3, Southern Miss 2: Facing a 2-1 match deficit, Alabama gutted out a pair of sets to win an exciting five-set match over Southern Miss to close out Friday action at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash. Alabama won the opening set, 25-20, before giving up 25-23 and 25-21 decisions in the second and third, respectively, to go down 2-1 in the match. The Tide gutted out a 25-23 win in the fourth and powered ahead in the fifth to win, 15-9. Alabama's offensive effort leaned heavily on Rivers, who finished with a career-high 38 kills and a .451 hitting percentage. McSparin was also tough in the middle, hitting .474 with 10 kills and just one error on 19 swings.
- Alabama 3, Lehigh 0: Alabama volleyball ended its weekend at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash with a 3-0 sweep over Lehigh, winning with set scores of 25-17, 25-22 and 25-15. Alabama posted a season-best .375 team hitting percentage against Lehigh, including a season-high .562 from Kat Hutson along with 10 kills. The Tide was strong up front, out-blocking the Mountain Hawks 6-1, and forced the visitors into 15 hitting errors and a .176 hitting percentage. Freshman Alexa Tomlak saw extended play time at setter, pacing the offense with 26 assists.
ED ALLEN NEARING 600TH CAREERÂ WIN
After hitting his 100th win at Alabama earlier this season, head coach Ed Allen is nearing another career milestone. In his 25th year overall as a head coach, Allen is just two wins away from his 600th career win, which includes previous coaching stints at Tulsa (2006-10), Presbyterian College (2003-05) and Anderson University (1992-2002). He owns a 598-252 (.704) overall record with 23 winning seasons in 24 years.
KRYSTAL RIVERS EARNS SECOND-STRAIGHT WEEKLY SEC AWARD
For the second-straight week, Alabama senior Krystal Rivers has been named the Southeastern Conference's Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. Rivers led the Crimson Tide with 59 kills (5.90/set) and 66.5 points (6.65/set) over the weekend's three matches, earning Hampton Inn Bama Bash MVP honors. Her 38 kills in the five-set win over Southern Miss are a career best and the highest total for any Alabama player since Michelle Green posted 38 against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 19, 1998. Rivers also moved up one spot in the all-time kills list at Alabama to third with 1,656, just 52 away from second place. With 213 kills and 240 points so far this season, she is the only SEC player with over 200 in either category. This is the fifth weekly honor of her career, tying Erin Heffner for the most weekly conference honors in program history.
TIDE IN THE NATIONAL STATS
- Heading into week four, Alabama is among the nation's best in a variety of categories:
- As a team, Alabama leads the SEC in both total kills (582) and total assists (526), which place the team 11th and 16th in each category, respectively, among the NCAA rankings.
- Senior Krystal Rivers is ranked third nationally in both total kills (213) and kills per set (5.33) and is fourth in points (240.0). She leads the SEC in all three categories.
- Pacing the potent offense, redshirt freshman setter Shannon Mikesky is second in the SEC and 15th nationally in total assists (426).
NEXT TIME OUT: NO .16 TEXAS A&M / NO. 7 FLORIDA
Next weekend, Alabama is set to open conference play at Foster Auditorium against a pair of ranked opponents in No. 16 Texas A&M and No. 7 Florida. The Tide takes on the Aggies on Friday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. CT and the Gators on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 12 p.m. CT. Both matches will be broadcast live on the SEC Network and streamed online at WatchESPN.com.
