Volleyball Opens Season with Three Matches in Buffalo

Friday, August 30

Buffalo, N.Y.

9 a.m. CT

Alabama

Marist

Volleyball Opens Season with Three Matches in Buffalo

8/29/2019 6:52:00 AM | Volleyball

Match Notes (PDF)Live Stats Live Video vs. Marist Live Video vs. Buffalo Live Video vs. Colgate

THIS WEEK: UB INVITE
Buffalo, N.Y. – Alumni Arena
Friday, Aug. 30

vs. Marist – 9 a.m. CT
at Buffalo – 5 p.m. CT

Saturday, Aug. 31

vs. Colgate – 9 a.m. CT

SCOUTING ALABAMA

Alabama begins its first season under new head coach Lindsey Devine, who arrives in Tuscaloosa after a 16-year stint at ETSU, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017-18
The Crimson Tide returns 11 players from last season's team, including starters Doris Carter, Meghan Neelon, Kaylee Thomas, Ginger Perinar and Hayley McSparin
Eight newcomers join the roster, including six freshmen and two graduate transfers

ALABAMA ON OPENING WEEKEND

Over the last 10 years, Alabama is 20-11 (.645) on opening weekend, winning 69 of the 119 sets it has played (.580)
Since going 0-3 in 2009 and 1-2 in 2010, the Tide has only posted a losing record once on opening weekend
Nine of Alabama's opening-weekend victories have come in four sets, with seven being sweeps and four coming in five sets

LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA DEFEATS SOUTH ALABAMA IN FIVE-SET EXHIBITION

Alabama won a hard-fought exhibition match over South Alabama in five sets on Saturday, Aug. 24 in Foster Auditorium
The Crimson Tide took a 2-0 match lead with 25-22 and 25-13 victories in the first two sets before the Jaguars evened the match with 21-25 and 20-25 decisions in the third and fourth, respectively. Tied at 9-9 in the deciding fifth set, Alabama closed out the match with a 6-2 run to win, 15-11.
Eighteen players saw court time in the exhibition match, with redshirt junior Ashley Homan posting a team-leading 14 kills. Freshman Alyiah Wells was also in double digits, tallying 11 while adding a team-leading three solo blocks and two block assists. Junior Kaylee Thomas led the back-row defense with 15 digs.

HOMECOMING FOR JUNIOR MEGHAN NEELON

This weekend's trip will be a homecoming for junior setter Meghan Neelon, who hails from Buffalo suburb Clarence Center.
She attended Clarence High School, leading them to a top-four finish at the state tournament her junior year while earning All-State and All-WNY honors that season
With her club team Niagara Frontier, she won a 2014 national title and earned Girl Junior National Championship MVP honors
Neelon will be reunited with a pair of former club teammates this weekend in Colgate sophomore Julia Kurowski and Buffalo freshman Jenna Sonnenberg

DEBUT SEASON FOR HEAD COACH LINDSEY DEVINE

Head Coach Lindsey Devine begins her debut season at the helm of the Crimson Tide in 2019
She arrives at Alabama following a successful 16-year stint at ETSU as its all-time winningest coach
Devine led the Buccaneers to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017 and 2018, the latter as the Southern Conference's first ever at-large bid
She was twice named SoCon Coach of the Year and had 28 student-athletes earn all-conference honors under her tenure, including three Player of the Year, three Libero of the Year and two Freshman of the Year award-winners
Off the court, ETSU sported a 100-percent graduation rate under Devine and earned the AVCA Team Academic Award each of the last nine years, which requires at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade point average

UP NEXT
Alabama will play three matches in Richmond, Va., at the VCU Invitational, facing Navy (10 a.m.) and host VCU (5 p.m.) on Friday, Sept. 6 and NC State (1 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 7