Volleyball Travels on Final SEC Road Trip of 2008
11/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 20, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The volleyball team heads east for its final SEC road trip of the season when it takes on South Carolina on Nov. 21 at 6:00 p.m. (CST) and No. 14 Florida on Nov. 23 at 12:30 p.m. (CST). The Crimson Tide earned a pair of wins last weekend over Ole Miss and Arkansas to improve to 15-11 overall this season and 8-9 in Southeastern Conference play.
"This is probably our toughest road trip of the season," said Head Coach Judy Green. "This late in the season, everyone has something they're playing for. For us, we need to go into this situation knowing what it is that we are playing for. We're in the position where we have nothing to lose and everything to gain."
Alabama is led on offense by junior Brooks Webster, who averages 4.16 kills per set in SEC matches ranking her No. 1 in the league. Freshman Stephanie Riley has delivered some key performances for the Tide at the setter position where she averages 6.11 assists per frame. Riley just recently broke into the SEC's top 10 list for assists per set. On defense, Alabama looks to senior Amy Pauly for her back row play where the libero earns better than four digs per set. On the net, Calli Johnson tops all Tide blockers with 0.84 rejections per frame. Sophomore Mary Catherine Aune leads the team in service aces for a second season with 39 total points thus far. She ranks No. 2 on the SEC service aces ledger.
Alabama and South Carolina will meet for the 33rd time. The Tide currently owns the 18-14 series edge. In the last matchup on Oct. 5, 2008, the Gamecocks beat Alabama 3-0. Most recently, South Carolina dropped a pair of contests to then-No. 22 Kentucky 3-0 and Tennessee 3-2. The Gamecocks are led on offense by junior Ivana Kujundzic, who nets 3.54 kills per set and classmate Bridget Denson-Dorman, who averages a league-leading 10.67 assists per frame. Junior Sarah Cline contributes 3.82 digs per set to top the South Carolina defense.
"We want to show up and compete against South Carolina which is something we didn't do last time out," added Green. "I think we are playing much better volleyball right now though."
Sunday's contest with the Gators will be the 34th meeting between the two clubs. Florida leads the series with 29 wins. In Tuscaloosa earlier this season, the Gators took a four-set match against the Tide. Last weekend, Florida split matches at Tennessee and Kentucky beating the Lady Volunteers 3-0 before falling to the Wildcats 3-2. Freshman Kelly Murphy leads the Gators in kills per set with 3.27 while hitting .360 percent. Anchoring the Florida defense is senior Elyse Cusack, who recently became the first player to eclipse the 1,500-dig plateau in school history. She averages 3.27 scoops per frame.
"Going into each match at this point, it is going to come down to which team can execute its plan throughout the course of the match," Green said. "We need to be ready and show a great deal of toughness. We are in a bit of an underdog position right now which really isn't a bad spot to be in."
Alabama returns home for its final regular season match Friday, Nov. 28 when it takes on Mississippi State at 7:00 p.m. (CST). The Tide will take the opportunity on this evening to recognize seniors Lindsey Buteyn and Amy Pauly as it is their last match in the CAVE.
