Alabama
Navy
Volleyball Heads to U.S. Naval Academy for Kristen Dickmann Invitational
8/30/2018 8:56:00 AM | Volleyball
THIS WEEK: KRISTEN DICKMANN INVITATIONAL
Annapolis, Md. – Wesley A. Brown Fieldhouse
- Friday, Aug. 31 at Navy (2-1) – 6 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Sept. 1 vs. Villanova (3-0) – 12 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Sept. 1 vs. Dartmouth (0-0) – 4 p.m. CT
SCOUTING ALABAMA (3-0)
- Alabama went 3-0 on its opening weekend at the Hampton Inn Charleston/West Ashley CofC Classic, dropping just one set across three wins against Western Kentucky, Missouri State and College of Charleston
- The Crimson Tide earned votes outside the top 25 in this week's poll, its first appearance in the national rankings since the 2015 preseason poll.
- For their efforts over the weekend, juniors Hayley McSparin and Mahalia Swink were named to the All-Tournament team while senior Cidavia Hall was the Tournament MVP.
- Hall was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week, her first career honor and the 11th in program history.
- Head Coach Ed Allen is in his eighth season at the helm of the program in 2018, owning a 137-92 record and a 631-275 overall mark as a head coach.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA GOES 3-0 IN CHARLESTON
- Alabama 3, Western Kentucky 0: Alabama earned a trio of narrow set victories over a Western Kentucky team that received votes in the AVCA preseason top-25 rankings. The sweep is the Crimson Tide's first in a season-opening match since 2012. Junior Mahalia Swink led the team with a career-best 16 kills, hitting .353 from the right side along with 12 digs for a double-double. Sophomore transfer Doris Carter, making her Tide debut, was second on the team with 11 kills while junior Hayley McSparin was also in double digits with 10. Sophomore Meghan Neelon and freshman Mylana Byrd split time at setter, combining for 51 assists, while seniors Cidavia Hall and Quincey Gary led the team with seven blocks and 23 digs, respectively.
- Alabama 3, Missouri State 1: Four Alabama players finished with double-digit kills in the win over Missouri State, led by junior Mahalia Swink for the second-straight match with 13. Senior Cidavia Hall hit .533 with 10 kills and just two errors on 15 swings, also stuffing a career-best seven blocks to lead the team. Sophomore Meghan Neelon tallied her first double-double of the season with 33 assists and 16 digs.
- Alabama 3, College of Charleston 0: Alabama posted its first 3-0 start to a season since 2014 with a sweep over College of Charleston Saturday night at TD Arena. The Crimson Tide offense was very efficient, hitting .354 as a team with just eight errors to 48 kills on 113 swings. Junior Ginger Perinar paced the attack, hitting .500 with 13 kills, while junior Hayley McSparin was close behind with 11 kills and a .524 clip. The Cougars were held to a .188 team attack percentage, committing 17 errors.
CIDAVIA HALL NAMED SEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Crimson Tide senior Cidavia Hall was named this week's SEC Defensive Player of the Week, it was announced by the league Monday. The Dothan, Ala., native started all three matches for the Crimson Tide at last weekend's Hampton Inn Charleston/West Ashley CofC Classic, earning tournament MVP honors. She led the team with 18 blocks, stuffing a career-best seven in the season opener against Western Kentucky before matching that total in the next match against Missouri State. She was equally as stout on the offensive end, hitting .606 with 23 kills and just three errors on 33 attacks. The weekly conference honor is the first of Hall's career and the 11th SEC Defensive Player of the Week award in program history.
ALABAMA RECEIVING TOP 25 VOTES
- Alabama is receiving votes in the week one AVCA top 25 poll, released Aug. 27
- The Tide has 33 votes, eighth among teams listed outside the top 25
- It is the Tide's first appearance in then national rankings since the 2015 preseason poll
- Alabama's first ever appearance in the AVCA rankings came in the week-five poll during the 2014 season. The Tide received votes outside the top 25 in all but one of the remaining polls that season.
ALABAMA IN THE SEC RANKINGS (TOP 5)
Team
- Kills - 1st - 155 (15.50/set)
- Assists - 1st - 152 (15.20/set)
- Blocks - 1st - 36 (3.60/set)
- Digs - 2nd - 182 (18.20/set)
- Opponent Hitting Percentage - 4th - .141
- Aces - 5th - 13 (1.30/set)
- Hitting Percentage - 5th - .274
Individual
- Cidavia Hall
- Hitting Percentage - 1st - .606
- Blocks - 1st - 18 (1.80/set)
- Hayley McSparin
- Blocks - T3rd - 15 (1.50/set)
- Hitting Percentage - 4th - .424
- Mahalia Swink
- Aces - T3rd - 5 (0.50/set)
- Quincey Gary
- Digs - 1st - 61 (6.10/set)
UP NEXT
Next weekend, Alabama makes its home debut hosting the Hampton Inn Bama Bash in Foster Auditorium Sept. 7-8. The Tide opens play Friday against Marshall (10 a.m. CT) and Georgia Tech (7 p.m. CT) before concluding Saturday against Northern Illinois (1 p.m. CT).
