Alabama
Texas A&M
Alabama Travels to Texas A&M Friday, Hosts Ole Miss Sunday on ESPNU
10/25/2018 11:06:00 AM | Volleyball
THIS WEEKEND:
ALABAMA (17-6, 4-5 SEC) AT TEXAS A&M (12-7, 5-2 SEC)
Friday, Oct. 26 – 6:30 p.m. CT
College Station, Texas – Reed Arena
ALABAMA (17-6, 4-5 SEC) VS. OLE MISS (11-10, 1-6 SEC)
Sunday, Oct. 28 – 5 p.m. CT
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Foster Auditorium *ESPNU*
SCOUTING ALABAMA
- Alabama is 17-6 overall and 4-5 in conference play after a four-set road win over Arkansas. The Tide has won four of its last five matches, including three SEC victories.
- Among SEC teams, Alabama's defense leads the league in digs (1,252 - 15.65/set) and is third in blocks (197 - 2.46/set). Individually, senior Quincey Gary is third in the league with 348 digs (4.35/set) while senior Cidavia Hall is ranked sixth in blocks with 85 (1.06/set)
- The Tide is ranked No. 35 in this week's NCAA RPI, the fifth-highest among SEC teams.
- Head Coach Ed Allen is in his eighth season at the helm of the program in 2018, owning a 151-98 (.606) record at UA and a 645-281 (.697) overall mark as a head coach
ALL-TIME VS. TEXAS A&M
- Overall: 12th Meeting (Texas A&M leads 8-3)
- In College Station: 0-5 | In Tuscaloosa: 3-2 | At Neutral Sites: 0-1
- Current Streak: Texas A&M +2
- Last Meeting: Nov. 25, 2017 - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - L, 0-3
- Last Meeting in College Station: Nov. 3, 2016 - L, 1-3
ALL-TIME VS. OLE MISS
- Overall: 68th Meeting (Alabama Leads 44-23)
- In Tuscaloosa: 21-7 | In Oxford: 11-15 | At Neutral Sites: 12-1
- Current Streak: Ole Miss +1
- Last Meeting: Sept. 24, 2017 - Oxford, Miss. L, 1-3
- Last Meeting in Tuscaloosa: Nov. 23, 2016 - W, 3-2
LAST TIME OUT: STRONG DEFENSE LEADS ALABAMA TO 3-1 WIN OVER ARKANSAS SUNDAY
Strong defense at the net and in the back row led Alabama to a 3-1 win over Arkansas Sunday afternoon in Barnhill Arena with set scores of 25-22, 18-25, 26-24 and 25-19. The Crimson Tide posted a season-high 15.0 blocks at the net against the Razorbacks, led by junior Hayley McSparin's seven. Senior Cidavia Hall and junior Ginger Perinar were close behind with five each, a career-high for Perinar. Senior Quincey Gary, back at the libero position, totaled a season-high 30 digs to put her 61 away from third place on the Crimson Tide career digs list. On the offensive end, the Crimson Tide had three with double-digit kills, led by sophomore Doris Carter at 15, who added 10 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
STRONG SHOWING VS. ARKANSAS
Alabama produced some of its best numbers of the season both on offense and defense in the most recent four-set win over Arkansas
- The team's 15.0 blocks are the most in any of Alabama's SEC matches this season and are tied for the most in any match, previously totaling 15.0 against Missouri State on opening weekend. It is the highest total since scoring 16.5 at LSU in the 2016 season finale
- The Tide's 78 digs were the most in any SEC match and the most in any match shorter than five sets. It marked the third-highest total in a four-set match under head coach Ed Allen
- Senior Quincey Gary accounted for 30 of the team's digs, tied for the eighth-most in program history and the third-most in a four-set match. Gary's 31 digs against South Alabama last season is tied for the program's four-set record.
- The 56 kills were the second-most in an SEC match this season for Alabama, only trailing the 57 scored against Auburn on Sept. 23
ALABAMA IN THE RPI
- Alabama is ranked No. 35 in this week's NCAA RPI, released Monday, Oct. 22
- This puts the Tide fifth among SEC teams, trailing Kentucky (10), Florida (16), Missouri (25) and South Carolina (29)
- Alabama has nine matches remaining in the regular season, including two matchups each against Texas A&M (64) and Ole Miss (100) along with single matches against Kentucky (8), Georgia (56), Arkansas (84), LSU (96) and Mississippi State (226)
BALANCED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL
- Through 23 matches, Alabama's .226 team hitting percentage ranks 12th on UA's single-season records
- It is the sixth time under head coach Ed Allen that a Tide offense ranks in the top-15, including four of the top-10
- Senior Cidavia Hall's current mark of .369 ranks fourth in program history. The last Tide hitter to finish the season above .370 was Bruna Evangelista in 2014 at .378
- Defensively, the team currently ranks fourth in digs per set (15.65) and seventh in blocks-per-set (2.46). The blocks average is the highest under Ed Allen and the highest for any Tide team since 2006
- Senior Quincey Gary is averaging 4.35 digs per set this season, which is fifth in UA history. This trails her previous best mark of 4.43 from last year, which ranks third.
- Cidavia Hall is 12th with 1.06 blocks per set this season, which is the highest mark under Allen and for any Tide player since 2006
ALABAMA IN THE SEC RANKINGS (TOP 10)
Team
- Digs - 1st - 1,252 (15.65/set)
- Blocks - 3rd - 197 (2.46/set)
- Opponent Hitting Percentage - 3rd - .179
- Assists - T7th - 980 (12.25/set)
- Aces - 8th - 102 (1.27/set)
- Kills - 7th - 1,048 (13.10/set)
- Hitting Percentage - 9th - .226
Individual
- Quincey Gary
- Digs - 3rd - 348 (4.35/set)
- Cidavia Hall
- Hitting Percentage - 4th - .369
- Blocks - 6th - 85 (1.06/set)
- Hayley McSparin
- Blocks - 9th - 81 (1.01/set)
- Meghan Neelon
- Aces - 7th - 27 (0.34/set)
- Assists - 9th - 517 (6.46/set)
- Ginger Perinar
- Kills - 10th - 259 (3.24/set)
GARY CONTINUES TO CLIMB CAREER DIGS LIST AT UA
- Senior libero Quincey Gary heads into this weekend's matches against Texas A&M and Ole Miss ranked fourth on Alabama's career digs list with 1,299
- Gary passed Michelle Green's (1997-00) career total of 1,264 digs in last week's match against Mississippi State. She is now 61 away from third-place Lorian Newcomer (1993-95) with 1,360 career digs
- Gary is one of four Tide athletes in the top 10 coached by Ed Allen, including Natalie Murison (2nd - 1,501), Brittany Thomas (6th - 1,195) and Kryssi Daniels (8th - 1,145)
- The Alexandria, Ind., native also ranks seventh in career digs per set at 3.07. The last Tide player to play four seasons at UA and finish above 3.00 in digs-per-set for their career was Amy Pauly (2005-08) at 3.91
UP NEXT
Alabama hosts a pair of matches at Foster Auditorium next weekend, starting Friday, Nov. 2 against Georgia at 7 p.m. CT before returning Sunday, Nov. 4 to face LSU at 1 p.m. CT.
