Alabama
Georgia
Alabama Volleyball Faces Georgia and Mississippi State on the Road
9/29/2016 9:34:00 AM | Volleyball
THIS WEEK
Friday, Sept. 30 at Georgia (12-3, 0-2 SEC) - 6 p.m. CT
Athens, Ga. - Ramsey Center
Sunday, Oct. 2 at Mississippi State (9-7, 1-1 SEC) - 3 p.m. CT
Starkville, Miss. - Newell-Grissom Building
SEC Network
FOLLOW THE TIDE
- Live Video: SEC Network+ (Friday), SEC Network (Sunday)
- Live Stats: rolltide.com
- Twitter: @AlabamaVBall
SCOUTING ALABAMA (12-3, 1-1 SEC)
- Alabama split its opening weekend of SEC play, defeating No. 19 Texas A&M in five sets on Friday before falling in three sets to sixth-ranked Florida on Sunday.
- Krystal Rivers' career kills total now sits at 1,756, which is 334 shy of Erin Heffner's (2001-04) career record of 2,090. Rivers is averaging 5.49 kills per set this season, which is the highest rate of her career and currently ranks third all-time at Alabama. Her career average is at 4.18 kills per set, which is also third in Tide history.
- Rivers leads the SEC in kills (313, 5.49/set) and is fifth in service aces (23, 0.40/set) while Shannon Mikesky ranks sixth in assists (588, 10.69/set) and Hayley McSparin ranks eighth in hitting percentage (.348).
- After playing at home for eight-straight matches, Alabama will be on the road for five of its next seven matches with away contests against Georgia (Sept. 30), Mississippi State (Oct. 2), Auburn (Oct. 9), Arkansas (Oct. 21) and Ole Miss (Oct. 23).
THE OPPONENTS
Georgia Bulldogs
- Southeastern Conference
- 2016 Record: 12-3 (0-2 SEC)
- Head Coach: Lizzy Stemke (sixth season)
- Record at Georgia: 66-87
2016 Stat Leaders:
- Attack Pct. - Meghan Donovan - .365
- Kills - Maddie Lobenstein - 142
- Assists - Meghan Donovan - 511
- Blocks - Desiree McCray - 55
- Aces - Cassidy Anderson - 24
- Digs - Cassidy Anderson – 215
Mississippi State Bulldogs
- Southeastern Conference
- 2016 Record: 9-7 (1-1 SEC)
- Head Coach: David McFatrich (second season)
- Record at MSU: 17-15
2016 Stat Leaders:
- Attack Pct. - Jazmyne Johnson - .284
- Kills - Evie Grace Singleton - 249
- Assists - Blossom Sato - 409
- Blocks - Jazmyne Johnson - 73
- Aces - Evie Grace Singleton - 28
- Digs - Payton Harris - 206
LAST TIME OUT: Texas A&M / FLORIDA
- Alabama 3, Texas A&M 2: Alabama volleyball opened Southeastern Conference play Friday night in dramatic fashion, persevering for a five-set win over No. 19 Texas A&M by set scores of 25-19, 26-24, 22-25, 16-25 and 15-13. The win is Alabama's seventh over a ranked opponent in program history and its first since defeating Texas A&M on Oct. 31, 2014 in Foster Auditorium. The two teams have gone to five sets in three of the last four meetings, with the Tide winning two of those contests. Alabama was led offensively by Krystal Rivers with 29 kills while Hayley McSparin posted 16 kills with a .414 hitting percentage. Shannon Mikesky finished with 59 assists and 10 digs, her sixth double-double of the year.
- Florida 3, Alabama 0: Alabama volleyball closed its eight-match home stand on Sunday at Foster Auditorium, falling in three sets to No. 6 Florida: 22-25, 14-25 and 19-25. Alabama was led offensively by Krystal Rivers with 17 kills while Leah Lawrence finished with a season-high .500 hitting percentage, posting eight kills on 14 swings with just one error. Shannon Mikesky finished with 27 assists and 10 digs, her seventh double-double of the season and her second of the weekend. For Florida, Alex Holston led the team with 14 kills while Rhamat Alhassan and Shainah Joseph each stuffed four blocks.
ALABAMA VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Friday's win over Texas A&M marked the seventh victory over a ranked opponent in program history and the team's first since defeating the Aggies on Oct. 31, 2014 in Tuscaloosa. Six of Alabama's seven ranked wins have come against conference opponents, with all of those coming in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama wins vs. ranked opponents
- Sept. 23, 2016 vs. No. 19 Texas A&M - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - 3-2
- Oct. 31, 2014 vs. No. 23 Texas A&M - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - 3-2
- Sept. 7, 2007 vs. No. 13 Ohio - South Bend, Ind. - 3-2
- Oct. 15, 2006 vs. No. 18 Tennessee - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - 3-1
- Oct. 8, 2006 vs. No. 10 LSU - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - 3-1
- Nov. 19, 2005 vs. No. 25 Tennessee - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - 3-2
- Sept. 30, 2005 vs. No. 24 LSU - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - 3-1
- Nov. 22, 2002 vs. No. 18 South Carolina - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - 3-0
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 47 SEC wins, Allen is just three wins 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.
THE TIDE SHINES ON THE SEC NETWORK
Sunday's match marks Alabama's third appearance on the SEC Network this season, its first on the road. Since the debut of the SEC Network in 2014, Alabama has been featured in 16 matches and has won 13 of them, including an 9-2 mark at home and 5-1 on the road. Following Sunday's match, the Tide is scheduled to appear three more times on the SEC Network with two additional matches on ESPNU.
Alabama on the SEC Network
- Sept. 24, 2014 at Georgia: W, 3-1
- Oct. 12, 2014 vs. South Carolina: W, 3-1
- Oct. 26, 2014 vs. Arkansas: W, 3-1
- Nov. 9, 2014 at South Carolina: W, 3-2
- Nov. 16, 2014 vs. Georgia: W, 3-0
- Sept. 23, 2015 vs. Mississippi State: W, 3-1
- Oct. 11, 2015 vs. Missouri: W, 3-2
- Oct. 18, 2015 at LSU: W, 3-2
- Oct. 25, 2015 vs. Georgia: W, 3-0
- Oct. 28, 2015 at Missouri: L, 3-2
- Nov. 1, 2015 at Arkansas: W, 3-2
- Nov. 8, 2015 vs. South Carolina: W, 3-1
- Nov. 15, 2015 vs. Auburn: W, 3-0
- Nov. 25, 2015 vs. Ole Miss: L, 3-1
- Sept. 23, 2016 vs. Texas A&M: W, 3-2
- Sept. 25, 2016 vs. Florida: L, 0-3
NEXT TIME OUT: AT AUBURN
Following Sunday's match, the Tide will have a week free of competition until they hit the road on Sunday, Oct. 9 to face in-state rival Auburn (7-8, 1-1 SEC) at 1:30 p.m. CT in Auburn Arena.
