No. 25 Alabama Opens SEC Play Wednesday at Missouri on ESPNU

Wednesday, September 19

Columbia, Mo.

8 p.m. CT

Alabama

Missouri

No. 25 Alabama Opens SEC Play Wednesday at Missouri on ESPNU

9/18/2018 12:31:00 PM | Volleyball

Match Notes (PDF)Live Stats Live Video (ESPNU)

THIS WEEK: NO. 25 ALABAMA (12-1) AT MISSOURI (10-2)

Wednesday, Sept. 19 – 8 p.m. CT
ESPNU – Sam Gore (play-by-play), Dain Blanton (analyst)
Columbia, Mo. – Hearnes Center

SCOUTING NO. 25 ALABAMA (12-1)

Alabama went 2-1 at last weekend's Crimson-White Tournament in Tuscaloosa, defeating South Alabama and Southern Miss while falling to No. 15 Purdue. The Crimson Tide is 12-1 heading into Southeastern Conference play this week
For the second-straight week, the Tide is ranked No. 25 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. Alabama is one of three ranked SEC teams, along with Florida (11) and Kentucky (20)
Among SEC teams, Alabama is second in the league in kills (581, 13.83/set), assists (609, 12.96/set), blocks (117, 2.49/set) and digs (711, 15.13/set). Individually, senior Quincey Gary leads the league with 228 digs (4.85/set), the only SEC player above 200
Heading into SEC play this week, Alabama has the most wins (12) and highest winning percentage (.923) of any conference team and joins South Carolina as the only one-loss teams in the league
Head Coach Ed Allen is in his eighth season at the helm of the program in 2018, owning a 146-93 (.611) record at UA and a 640-276 (.699) overall mark as a head coach

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA CLOSES PRE-CONFERENCE PLAY AT HOME

Alabama 3, South Alabama 1 (25-21, 17-25, 25-15, 25-19): The Crimson Tide opened play at the Crimson-White Tournament Friday morning with a four-set win over South Alabama. The win stretched Alabama's winning streak to 11 games, the Tide's longest winning streak since 2012. Senior Quincey Gary led the team with eight digs, which moves her to seventh in career digs at Alabama. On the offensive end, sophomore Doris Carter and junior Ginger Perinar led the team with 16 kills each, hitting .324 and .333, respectively.
Purdue 3, Alabama 0 (22-25, 19-25, 15-25): Alabama suffered its first loss of the season in game two of the weekend, falling in three sets to 15th-ranked Purdue. The Boilermakers stymied the Tide offense, which was limited to a .171 hitting percentage while Purdue's hitters posted a .327 team hitting percentage in the three-set sweep.
Alabama 3, Southern Miss 0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-20): No. 25 Alabama fought back-and-forth with Southern Miss in the opening set before overcoming early deficits in the second and third sets to defeat the Golden Eagles. Junior Ginger Perinar led the offense with 12 kills, hitting .370, while junior Hayley McSparin was also in double figures with 10 kills and a .471 clip. Sophomore Meghan Neelon and freshman Mylana Byrd spilt the setting duties with 15 assists each and senior Quincey Gary led the back-row effort with 18 digs.

ALABAMA RANKED NO. 25 FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT WEEK

For the second-straight week, Alabama is No. 25 in the AVCA Coaches Poll
Last week's top-25 ranking was the first in program history after receiving votes outside the top 25 in each of the preceeding two polls. The Tide made its first appearance in the AVCA poll this season in the week one poll, released Aug. 27. It was the program's first appearance in the national rankings since the 2015 preseason poll
Alabama is one of three ranked SEC teams, along with No. 11 Florida and No. 20 Kentucky. Georgia and Tennessee are both receiving votes outside the top 25
Alabama's first-ever appearance in the AVCA rankings came in the week-five poll during the 2014 season, where the Tide received votes. The Tide received votes outside the top 25 in all but one of the remaining polls that season

BEST START TO THE SEASON IN PROGRAM HISTORY

Alabama posted 11 wins before suffering its first loss last weekend, marking its best start to a season since becoming an NCAA program in 1989
The program's previous best start was 8-0 in 2004. The best start under head coach Ed Allen was a 5-0 run to begin the 2014 season, which ended in an appearance in the NCAA Tournament
The 11-match winning streak to start the season was the Tide's longest since 2012
Alabama is one of 21 teams nationally that has one loss or is undefeated. Of the one-loss teams, the Tide and Michigan State are tied for the most wins at 12

ALABAMA IN THE SEC RANKINGS (TOP 5)
Team

Kills - 2nd - 638 (13.57/set)
Assists - 2nd - 609 (12.96/set)
Blocks - 2nd - 117 (2.49/set)
Digs - 2nd - 711 (15.13/set)
Hitting Percentage - 3rd - .261
Aces - 3rd - 72 (1.53/set)
Opponent Hitting Percentage - 4th - .167

Individual

Quincey Gary
- Digs - 1st - 228 (4.85/set)
Hayley McSparin
- Blocks - 3rd - 56 (1.19/set)

ON THE ATTACK

Through four weeks of play, Alabama's .261 team hitting percentage ranks fourth on UA's single-season records
It marks the highest team hitting percentage since finishing the 2014 season at .264, the highest in program history
Four of the top 10 marks in program history have come under head coach Ed Allen
Senior Cidavia Hall's current mark of .482 would stand as the best hitting percentage in program history, beating Krystal Rivers' 2013 clip of .404. Rivers is the only player in program history to finish the season above .400

GARY AMONG TOP 10 IN CAREER DIGS AT UA

Senior libero Quincey Gary is seventh in UA history with 1,179 career digs
She is one dig away from the sixth-place mark of 1,180 set by Erin Heffner (2001-04) and 16 shy of Brittany Thomas' (2013-16) fifth-place total of 1,195
Gary is one of four Tide athletes in the top 10 coached by Ed Allen, including Natalie Murison (2nd - 1,501), Thomas (5th - 1,195) and Kryssi Daniels (7th - 1,145)
The Alexandria, Ind., native also ranks eighth in career digs-per-set at 3.02. The last Tide player to play four seasons at UA and finish above 3.00 digs-per-set for their career was Amy Pauly (2005-08) at 3.91

ALABAMA VOLLEYBALL TO APPEAR FOUR TIMES ON ESPN FAMILY OF NETWORKS
Wednesday's match is the first of four national television appearances slated on the Crimson Tide's 2018 schedule: