Thursday, September 12
Birmingham, Ala.
7 p.m. CT
Alabama
at
UAB
Photo by: Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics/ Jake Arthur
Volleyball Plays UAB, Georgia State and Alcorn State in Birmingham
9/11/2019 3:37:00 PM | Volleyball
This Week: Blazer Invitational
Birmingham, Ala. – Bartow Arena
- Thursday, Sept. 12 at UAB (3-3) – 7 p.m. CT
- Friday, Sept. 13 vs. Georgia State (3-3) – 10 a.m. CT
- Saturday, Sept. 14 vs. Alcorn State (2-3) – 10 a.m. CT
Scouting Alabama
- Alabama is 5-1 through two weeks of play, with three of its five wins coming in three sets
- After two weeks away from home, the Crimson Tide will continue to be road warriors in the early part of the season, with only two of its next nine matches played in Foster Auditorium
- Senior Hayley McSparin was named to the VCU Invitational All-Tournament team, earning 21 kills over three starts with a .395 hitting percentage and six blocks
- 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
Last Time Out: VCU Invitational
- Alabama 3, Navy 0: Alabama and Navy battled through two tight sets to start the match, with the Crimson Tide earning narrow 25-21 and 25-22 victories to take a 2-0 match lead. Leading 14-11 just past the halfway mark in the third, the Tide found a rhythm and closed the frame with a convincing 11-2 run to win, 25-13, and cap the sweep. Graduate student Brooke Kuhlman led all players with 11 kills, hitting .304 along with nine digs. Sophomore Mylana Byrd paced the offense with 24 assists and added four blocks at the net, including a career-best three solo blocks.
- VCU 3, Alabama 2: Alabama rallied from a 25-17 loss in the first to defeat VCU in the second, 25-18. The Rams answered to win by the same margin in the third before a big run late in the fourth propelled the Tide to a 25-17 win in the fourth to even it at 2-2. Alabama pulled within one late in the fifth but VCU held on to win by three and hand the Tide its first loss of the season. Freshman Alyiah Wells led all players with 16 kills, hitting .483 along with a team-leading four blocks. Senior Ginger Perinar was also in double figures with 12, her highest total of the season. Junior Meghan Neelon and Byrd split the setting duties, combining for 51 of the team's 53 assists, with Neelon adding a career-best four service aces.
- Alabama 3, NC State 1: Alabama dropped a narrow two-point decision in the opening frame to NC State before claiming back-to-back four point wins in the second and third to move ahead in the match. The fourth set was all Crimson Tide, cruising ahead to a 10-point victory at 25-15 to cap the match. Senior Hayley McSparin led the team with 10 kills, hitting .500 with just one error on 18 swings. Byrd played all six rotations, finishing with 38 assists along with a team-leading five blocks. Junior Kaylee Thomas was one of two players with double-digit digs, earning 20 while Perinar tallied 11.
Among the SEC Leaders
- As a team, Alabama has held its opponents to a .143 hitting percentage which leads the SEC. The Tide is also among the top five in the league in assists (264, 11.48/set) and blocks (52, 2.26/set)
- Junior Meghan Neelon is third in the SEC with eight service aces, averaging 0.53 per set
- Junior Kaylee Thomas is fifth in the league in digs-per-set (3.91) and is one of three with 90 or more digs
- Freshman Alyiah Wells is ranked in the top 10 in hitting percentage (8th - .368) and blocks (9th - 26, 1.13/set)
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 makes its home debut Tuesday, Sept. 17 hosting Kennesaw State at Foster Auditorium, with the match set to begin at 7 p.m. CT. The Tide is back on the road three days later, heading to Tallahassee, Fla., to face Florida State on Friday, Sept. 20 at 5 p.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
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