Alabama Begins Three-Match Road Stint Sunday at 11th-Ranked Kentucky

Sunday, November 11

Lexington, Ky.

12:30 p.m. CT

Alabama

Kentucky

Alabama Begins Three-Match Road Stint Sunday at 11th-Ranked Kentucky

11/10/2018 7:57:00 AM | Volleyball

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THIS WEEKEND: ALABAMA (18-9, 5-8 SEC) AT #11 KENTUCKY (18-4, 12-0 SEC)
Sunday, Nov. 11 – 12:30 p.m. CT
Lexington, Ky. – Memorial Coliseum

SCOUTING ALABAMA

Alabama is 18-9 overall and 5-8 in conference play after dropping a pair of matches last weekend, falling to Georgia Friday in four sets before a hard-fought, five-set loss to LSU Sunday
Among SEC teams, Alabama's defense leads the league in digs (1,532 - 15.63/set) and is third in blocks (234 - 2.39/set). Individually, senior Quincey Gary is third in the league with 441 digs (4.50/set) while senior Cidavia Hall is ranked fourth in blocks with 104 (1.06/set)

ALL-TIME VS. KENTUCKY

Overall: 47th Meeting (Kentucky leads 32-14)
In Lexington: 4-17 | In Tuscaloosa: 8-15 | At Neutral Sites: 2-0
Current Streak: Kentucky +7
Last Meeting: Nov. 8, 2017 - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - L, 1-3
Last Meeting in Lexington: Oct. 6, 2017 - L, 1-3
Series Notes: From 2000-07, Alabama had its most successful stretch against Kentucky, going 10-2 against the Wildcats. Since 2008, Kentucky has held the advantage with a 14-2 record against the Tide, including a current run of seven straight

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA FALLS IN PAIR OF HOME MATCHES

Georgia 3, Alabama 1: Alabama won the opening set, 25-13, before Georgia answered back with a near-identical win in the second, 25-15. The Bulldogs posted a four-point victory in the third, 25-21, before sealing it with a narrow 26-24 decision in the fourth. Juniors Ginger Perinar and Hayley McSparin led the team with 12 kills each, with McSparin hitting .526 out of the middle. Sophomore Doris Carter was one kill shy of a double-double, finishing with nine along with 14 digs.
LSU 3, Alabama 2: Alabama dropped the opening set to LSU, 25-19, before evening the match with a 25-22 win in the second. The Tigers took the advantage with a 25-18 decision in the third but the Tide held off a late rally in the fourth to win, 25-22, and force a deciding fifth set. The final frame saw 10 tie scores and six lead changes, with LSU ultimately coming out with the 16-14 win to take the match, 3-2. Three Tide players were in double figures in kills, led by junior Ginger Perinar's 17. She also tallied a career-high 12 digs for her first double-double of the season. Junior Hayley McSparin and sophomore Doris Carter finished with 13 kills each, with McSparin hitting .310 out of the middle with a pair of blocks. Senior Cidavia Hall tied a career high with three solo blocks, adding a block assists to lead the team with four blocks

ALABAMA IN THE RPI

Alabama is No. 52 in this week's NCAA RPI, released Monday, Nov. 5
This puts the Tide sixth among SEC teams, trailing Kentucky (8), Florida (21), South Carolina (26), Tennessee (28) and Missouri (30)
Alabama has five matches remaining in the regular season, facing Kentucky (8), Texas A&M (88), Arkansas (100), Ole Miss (114) and Mississippi State (239)

SECOND TIME AROUND

Four of this month's five remaining matches are against opponents Alabama has played earlier this season: Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Arkansas
Since 2014, Alabama is 14-10 in rematches. The Tide is 6-7 when playing an opponent it lost to earlier in the season but is 8-3 against opponents defeated earlier that year
Alabama has won at least one rematch against a team it lost to previously that season every year since 2014

NOVEMBER BOUNCE-BACK

Alabama has posted a better November record than its October record in five of the seven previous seasons. Not including this season, the Tide is 23-33 (.411) in October but 29-24 (.547) in November
Prior to this season, the Tide had earned five wins in October only twice during that span, doing so in 2013 and 2014. Alabama has had at least five wins during the month of November four times, winning seven in 2013, six in 2014 and five in both 2015 and 2016

BALANCED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL

Through 25 matches, Alabama's .223 team hitting percentage ranks 13th on UA's single-season records
It is the sixth time since 2011 that a Tide offense ranks in the top-15, including four of the top-10
Senior Cidavia Hall's current mark of .364 ranks fourth 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 fourth in digs per set (15.63) and ninth in blocks-per-set (2.39) all-time at UA. The blocks average is highest for any Tide team since 2006
Senior Quincey Gary is averaging 4.50 digs per set this season, which is third in UA history. This betters her previous high mark of 4.43 from last year, which ranks fourth
Hall is 13th all-time at UA with 1.06 blocks per set this season, the highest mark for any Tide player since 2006

ALABAMA IN THE SEC RANKINGS (TOP 10)
Team

Digs - 1st - 1,532 (15.63/set)
Blocks - 3rd - 234 (2.39/set)
Opponent Hitting Percentage - 5th - .191
Assists - 8th - 1,189 (12.13/set)
Aces - 8th - 125 (1.28/set)
Kills - 9th - 1,279 (13.05/set)
Hitting Percentage - 9th - .223

Individual

Quincey Gary
- Digs - 3rd - 441 (4.50/set)
Cidavia Hall
- Hitting Percentage - 4th - .364
- Blocks - 5th - 104 (1.06/set)
Meghan Neelon
- Aces - 7th - 31 (0.32/set)
Mahalia Swink
- Aces - 9th - 27 (0.29/set)

GARY CONTINUES TO CLIMB CAREER DIGS LIST AT UA

Senior libero Quincey Gary heads into Sunday's match at Kentucky ranked third on Alabama's career digs list with 1,392
Gary passed Lorian Newcomer's (1993-95) career total of 1,360 digs in last Friday's match against Georgia. She is now 109 shy of former teammate Natalie Murison (2014-17) who ranks second with 1,501
The Alexandria, Ind., native also ranks seventh in career digs per set at 3.16. 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 heads to the Magnolia State for a pair of road matches, taking on Mississippi State Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. CT and Ole Miss Sunday, Nov. 18 at 3 p.m. CT.