Alabama
Auburn
Volleyball Faces Auburn on the Road Sunday
10/6/2018 9:47:00 AM | Volleyball
THIS WEEKEND: ALABAMA (13-5, 1-4 SEC) AT AUBURN (8-7, 1-4 SEC)
- Sunday, Oct. 7 – 1:30 p.m. CT
- Auburn, Ala. – Auburn Arena
SCOUTING ALABAMA
- Alabama is 13-5 overall and 1-4 in conference play after a four-set road loss to Tennessee Wednesday.
- Among SEC teams, Alabama's defense leads the league in digs (995, 15.55/set) and is third in blocks (156, 2.44/set). Individually, senior Quincey Gary is second in the league with 283 digs (4.42/set) while junior Hayley McSparin and senior Cidavia Hall are tied for fifth in blocks at 68 (1.06/set)
- Hall and Gary's numbers this season put them among the single-season leaders in program history, with Gary's 4.52 digs-per-set at fourth and Hall's .350 hitting percentage ranked seventh.
- Head Coach Ed Allen is in his eighth season at the helm of the program in 2018, owning a 147-97 (.602) record at UA and a 641-280 (.696) overall mark as a head coach
ALL-TIME VS. AUBURN
- Overall: 83rd Meeting (Alabama leads 50-32)
- In Auburn: 18-15 | In Tuscaloosa: 27-12 | At Neutral Sites: 5-5
- Current Streak: Alabama +1
- Last Meeting: Sept. 23, 2018 - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - W, 3-1
- Last Meeting in Auburn: Nov. 21, 2017 - L, 2-3
- Series Notes: Home court advantage has played a factor in the all-time matchup against Auburn, with Alabama holding a 27-12 advantage in Tuscaloosa while the Tigers are 18-15 on the Plains. After losing six-straight to Auburn from 2009-12, Alabama has won seven of the last nine meetings. In the 12 meetings between the teams with Ed Allen as the Tide's head coach, only three of the matches have been decided in three sets. Six have come in four sets while the remaining three have gone five.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA DROPS FOUR-SET DECISION TO TENNESSEE WEDNESDAY
Alabama took a close 21-25 loss in the opening set before Tennessee built a sizeable lead early in the second that carried the Lady Vols to an 11-point set win to lead the match, 2-0. The Tide avoided the sweep with a 25-21 win in the third but fell in a close fourth set, 20-25, to drop the match.
Junior Ginger Perinar led the Tide offense with 16 kills as one of three hitters in double figures, including sophomore Doris Carter who tallied 11 kills and 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Sophomore Kaylee Thomas led the back-row defense with a career-high 21 digs while senior Quincey Gary totaled 12, putting her 30 shy of fourth place on Alabama's career digs list.
EARLIER THIS SEASON VS. AUBURN
- Alabama defeated Auburn, 3-1, earlier this season in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 23
- The teams split the opening two sets, with the Tide posting a 25-22 victory in the opener before the Tigers responded with a 25-23 decision in the second. A pair of narrow two-point wins in the third and fourth sets gave Alabama the edge
- The score was tied 36 times during the match, including 12 tie scores in both the second and third sets. The 36 tie scores is the highest total in a conference match this season for Alabama and is the second-highest total for the entire season, only trailing the 40 against Navy (Aug. 31)
- Alabama and Auburn were evenly matched offensively, posting 57 kills each with Alabama holding a slight .230-.227 advantage in hitting percentage
- Junior Ginger Perinar led the offense with 16 kills, which is tied for her highest output in a conference match this season
BALANCED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL
- Through 18 matches, Alabama's .223 team hitting percentage ranks 13th 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 in UA history, including four of the top-10
- Senior Cidavia Hall's current mark of .350 ranks seventh in program history. The last Tide hitter to finish the season above .350 was Bruna Evangelista in 2014 at .378
- Defensively, the team currently ranks fifth in digs-per-set (15.55) and seventh in blocks-per-set (2.44). The blocks average is the highest under Ed Allen and the highest for any Tide team since 2006
- Senior Quincey Gary is averaging 4.42 digs-per-set this season, which is fourth in UA history. This just trails her previous best mark of 4.43 from last year, which ranks third
GARY CONTINUES TO CLIMB CAREER DIGS LIST AT UA
- Senior libero Quincey Gary heads into the Auburn match ranked fifth on Alabama's career digs list with 1,234 career digs
- Gary is now 30 shy of fourth-place Michelle Green's (1997-00) career total of 1,264 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 (7th - 1,145).
- The Alexandria, Ind., native also ranks eighth in career digs-per-set at 3.03. 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
ALABAMA IN THE SEC RANKINGS (TOP 10)
Team
- Digs - 1st - 995 (15.55/set)
- Blocks - 3rd - 156 (2.44/set)
- Opponent Hitting Percentage - 4th - .182
- Assists - 7th - 781 (12.20/set)
- Aces - 8th - 84 (1.31/set)
- Kills - 9th - 828 (12.94/set)
- Hitting Percentage - 10th - .223
Individual
- Quincey Gary
- Digs - 2nd - 283 (4.42/set)
- Cidavia Hall
- Hitting Percentage - 6th - .350
- Blocks - T5th - 68 (1.06/set)
- Hayley McSparin
- Blocks - T5th - 68 (1.06/set)
- Meghan Neelon
- Aces - 8th - 64 (0.31/set)
- Ginger Perinar
- Kills - 10th - 212 (3.31/set)
- Mahalia Swink
- Aces - 7th - 61 (0.33/set)
UP NEXT
Alabama takes a break from conference play on Wednesday, Oct. 10, hosting Alabama State at Foster Auditorium at 7 p.m. CT. The Tide then travels to Gainesville, Fla., to take on No. 11 Florida Sunday, Oct. 14 at 12:30 p.m. CT.
