Alabama
Auburn
Alabama Volleyball Faces In-State Rival Auburn in Wednesday Road Match on SEC Network
10/31/2017 10:54:00 AM | Volleyball
THIS WEEK: ALABAMA (16-8, 4-6 SEC) AT AUBURN (12-8, 5-6 SEC)
Wednesday, Nov. 1 – 7 p.m. CT (SEC Network)
Auburn, Ala. – Auburn Arena
SCOUTING ALABAMA
- Alabama is 16-8 overall this season and 4-6 in Southeastern Conference play. Last week, the Tide played just one match, sweeping Mississippi State on the road in three sets.
- The Tide is ranked No. 47 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, with five matches remaining against higher-ranked opponents including Kentucky (3), Auburn (41), Texas A&M (37), LSU (36) and Missouri (44).
- Senior Leah Lawrence currently leads the offense with 226 kills and a .328 hitting percentage, followed closely in kills by freshman Christine Jarman's 215. Lawrence also leads the team with 26 service aces and 100 blocks. Freshman setter Meghan Neelon has a team-leading 913 assists, averaging 10.1 per set, and junior libero Quincey Gary leads the defense with 411 digs.
- Five of Alabama's remaining eight matches will be played at home. Under head coach Ed Allen, the Tide is 71-29 (.710) in Foster Auditorium, including an 8-2 record this season.
- Four of Alabama's remaining eight matches will be broadcast on the SEC Network, including the next three straight. Since the network's introduction in 2014, the Tide has been featured in 24 matches, winning 17 of them with a 12-3 mark at home and 5-4 mark on the road. This season, Alabama is 3-1 in SEC Network matches.
LAST WEEK: ALABAMA SWEEPS MISSSISSIPPI STATE FRIDAY IN STARKVILLE
Alabama volleyball needed just three sets to earn a win on the road Friday night against Mississippi State, sweeping the Bulldogs with set scores of 25-21, 25-18 and 25-21. The Tide hit .253 as a team while holding the Bulldogs to a .118 clip. Sophomore Ginger Perinar led the team with 16 kills, the highest total for an Alabama player in a three-set match this season. Senior Leah Lawrence posted five blocks up front, increasing her career total to 246 which moves her to second all-time in the Alabama record books. Junior Quincey Gary led the defense with 17 digs, putting her 10 away from cracking the Tide's single-season top 10.
ALABAMA IN THE SEC RANKINGS (TOP FIVE)
Team (Overall)
- 2nd - Digs (1,421, 15.79/set)
- 4th - Blocks (223, 2.48/set)
- 4th - Opponent Hitting Percentage (.189)
- 5th - Aces (115, 1.28/set)
Individual (Overall)
- 3rd - Digs - Quincey Gary (411, 4.57/set)
- 5th - Assists - Meghan Neelon (913, 10.14/set)
Team (SEC Only)
- 3rd - Digs (611, 15.67/set)
Individual (SEC Only)
- 4th - Kills - Ginger Perinar (143, 3.67/set)
- 4th - Digs - Quincey Gary (171, 4.38/set)
- 5th - Assists - Meghan Neelon (402, 10.31/set)
- 5th - Points - Ginger Perinar (154.5, 3.96/set)
LEAH LAWRENCE NEARING ALABAMA CAREER BLOCK RECORD
In the Oct. 27 match at Mississippi State, senior Leah Lawrence moved into second all-time at Alabama in career blocks with 426. This puts her just 12 shy of matching the school record of 438 held by Shelly Adamcik (1999-02). She is also among the top 10 at Alabama in block assists (3rd - 345) and solo blocks (4th - 81). In the Oct. 1 match against Missouri, she became the fifth player in program history to reach 400 career blocks and the first under head coach Ed Allen.
Alabama Career Block Leaders
- Shelly Adamcik (1999-2002): 438
- Leah Lawrence (2014-pres.): 426
- Mavis Reed (1991-94): 425
- Crystal Hudson (2003-07): 408
- Julie Farley (2001-04): 400
GINGER PERINAR FINDING HER PACE IN SEC PLAY
Sophomore Ginger Perinar has at least 12 kills in nine of the 10 SEC matches so far this season, or 90 percent. Under head coach Ed Allen, Krystal Rivers is the only other player to earn 12 or more kills in over 80 percent of SEC matches in a season, doing so as a senior in 2016 in 16 of the team's 18 conference matches. If Perinar can earn at least 12 kills in 10 SEC matches this year, it would mark the 10th time it has happened with Allen at the helm.
12+ Kills in at least 10 SEC Matches (2011-present)
- 16 - Krystal Rivers (2016)
- 14 - Krystal Rivers (2015)
- 13 - Krystal Rivers (2013)
- 12 - Kat Hutson (2014, 2015), Krystal Rivers (2014)
- 11 - Kayla Fitterer (2012), Laura Steiner (2012)
- 10 - Kayla Fitterer (2011)
MEGHAN NEELON APPROACHING TOP-FIVE FRESHMAN MARK
Freshman setter Meghan Neelon has 913 assists through 90 sets played this season, averaging 10.14 per set. With eight matches remaining on the schedule, Neelon has the opportunity to post one of the top five highest assist totals by a Crimson Tide freshman in program history. Currently, she is 83 shy of teammate Shannon Mikesky's fifth-place freshman total of 996 from last season.
Alabama Freshman Assist Leaders
- Jennifer Miller (1989) - 1,401
- Brigitte Slack (2004) - 1,362
- Sierra Wilson (2012) - 1,293
- Allison Lange (1997) - 1,270
- Shannon Mikesky (2016) - 996
QUINCEY GARY POSTING CAREER-BEST DIG NUMBERS AT LIBERO
In her first full season as the team's libero, junior Quincey Gary is quickly posting career dig numbers from the back row. She currently leads the team and ranks third in the SEC with 411 digs, averaging 4.57 per set. The total is already a career best for Gary and puts her just 10 shy of cracking Alabama's single-season top 10. The highest single-season dig total under current head coach Ed Allen came two years ago from current senior Natalie Murison, who earned 469 as a sophomore in 2015. That mark currently ranks sixth in program history.
ALABAMA VOLLEYBALL TO APPEAR FOURÂ MORE TIMES ON SEC NETWORK
Four of Alabama's remaining eight matches are slated to broadcast live on the SEC Network, including its next three straight.
- Wednesday, Nov. 1 at Auburn - 7 p.m. CT
- Sunday, Nov. 5 vs. Georgia - Noon CT
- Wednesday, Nov. 8 vs. Kentucky - 7 p.m. CT
- Wednesday, Nov. 22 at Missouri - 5 p.m. CT
ALABAMA VOLLEYBALL SHINES ON SEC NETWORK
Since the launch of the SEC Network during the 2014 season, Alabama has been featured in 23 matches, winning 16 of them with a 12-3 mark at home and 4-4 mark on the road.
- 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, 2-3
- 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, 1-3
- Sept. 23, 2016 vs. Texas A&M: W, 3-2
- Sept. 25, 2016 vs. Florida: L, 0-3
- Oct. 2, 2016 at Mississippi State: L, 2-3
- Oct. 28, 2016 vs. Tennessee: L, 0-3
- Nov. 6, 2016 vs. Arkansas: W, 3-1
- Nov. 13, 2016 at Florida: L, 0-3
- Sept. 22, 2017 at Georgia: L, 0-3
- Sept. 27, 2017 vs. Arkansas: W, 3-2
- Oct. 22, 2017 vs. South Carolina: W, 3-2
- Oct. 27, 2017 at Mississippi State: W, 3-0
UP NEXT
Alabama returns home to play Georgia (14-8, 4-5 SEC) on Sunday, Nov. 5 at Noon CT live on the SEC Network.
