Alabama
Tennessee
Alabama Volleyball Squares Off Against Tennessee Sunday in Foster Auditorium
11/11/2017 1:02:00 PM | Volleyball
THIS WEEKEND: ALABAMA (16-11, 4-9 SEC) VS. TENNESSEE (11-12, 4-10 SEC)
Sunday, Nov. 12 – 1 p.m. CT
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Foster Auditorium
SCOUTING ALABAMA
- Alabama is 16-11 overall this season and 4-9 in Southeastern Conference play. Last time out, the Tide fell in four sets Wednesday night against No. 7 Kentucky in Tuscaloosa.
- The Tide is ranked No. 54 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, with three matches remaining against higher-ranked opponents including LSU (35), Missouri (36) and Texas A&M (48).
- Senior Leah Lawrence currently leads the offense with 241 kills and a .313 hitting percentage, also leads the team with 107 blocks and is tied with freshman setter Meghan Neelon with a team-leading 28 service aces. Junior libero Quincey Gary leads the defense and ranks fourth in the SEC with 461 digs.
- Three of Alabama's remaining five matches will be played at home. Under head coach Ed Allen, the Tide is 71-31 (.696) in Foster Auditorium.
- Senior Leah Lawrence is only five blocks shy of the career record at Alabama, currently held by Shelly Adamcik (1999-2002) with 438. With 107 blocks so far this season, Lawrence is also 15 away from her single-season best of 122 from last year.
- Junior Quincey Gary has already moved into Alabama's single-season top 10 in digs this season, currently sitting in seventh with a career-high 461. This puts her just eight shy of teammate Natalie Murison's 2015 total of 469, the highest mark under head coach Ed Allen.
LAST TIME OUT: ALABAMA DROPS HARD-FOUGHT CONTEST TO NO. 7 KENTUCKY
Alabama faced an early 0-2 deficit with 15-25 and 23-25 losses in the first two sets to No. 7 Kentucky before posting a tough 25-23 win in the third to avoid the sweep. The Tide lead at the 17-point mark in the fourth set but the Wildcats closed strongly to win the frame, 25-19, and the match, 3-1. Sophomore Mahalia Swink led the offense with 14 kills and sophomore Ginger Perinar was also in double digits with 11 kills along with two of the team's six service aces. Freshman Meghan Neelon earned her 10th double-double of the season with 31 assists and 12 digs, tying the team lead in the latter. Senior Leah Lawrence continues to close in on the career blocks record, earning three in the match to put her just five away.
ALABAMA IN THE SEC RANKINGS (TOP FIVE)
Team (Overall)
- 3rd - Digs (1,603, 15.72/set)
- 5th - Aces (129, 1.26/set)
Individual (Overall)
- 4th - Digs - Quincey Gary (461, 4.52/set)
- 5th - Assists - Meghan Neelon (1,022, 10.02/set)
Team (SEC Only)
- 3rd - Digs (793, 15.55/set)
Individual (SEC Only)
- 5th - Kills - Ginger Perinar (176, 3.45/set)
- 5th - Digs - Quincey Gary (221, 4.33/set)
LEAH LAWRENCE NEARING ALABAMA CAREER BLOCK RECORD
Senior Leah Lawrence currently sits at 433 career blocks, just five shy of matching the school record of 438 held by Shelly Adamcik (1999-02). She is also among the top 10 at Alabama in block assists (3rd - 349) and solo blocks (4th - 84). In the Oct. 1 match against Missouri, she became the fifth player in program history to reach 400 career blocks and the first under head coach Ed Allen.
Alabama Career Block Leaders
- Shelly Adamcik (1999-2002): 438
- Leah Lawrence (2014-pres.): 433
- Mavis Reed (1991-94): 425
- Crystal Hudson (2003-07): 408
- Julie Farley (2001-04): 400
FAMILIAR FACES
Seniors Natalie Murison and Leah Lawrence have each appeared in all 124 matches over their four-year Crimson Tide careers. That ties them for eighth all-time at Alabama and, with five matches left in the regular season, could propel them to as high as third all-time behind 2015 graduate Sierra Wilson (132) and 2016 graduate Brittany Thomas (131).
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MEGHAN NEELON EARNS TOP-FIVE FRESHMAN MARK
Freshman setter Meghan Neelon has 1,022 assists through 102 sets played this season, giving her the fifth-highest total by a freshman in program history. In the Nov. 8 match against Kentucky, Neelon passed teammate Shannon Mikesky's mark of 996 set in 2016. Neelon's total is the second-highest freshman assist total under head coach Ed Allen, only trailing Sierra Wilson's 2012 freshman total of 1,293.
Alabama Freshman Assist Leaders
- Jennifer Miller (1989) - 1,401
- Brigitte Slack (2004) - 1,362
- Sierra Wilson (2012) - 1,293
- Allison Lange (1997) - 1,270
- Meghan Neelon (2017) - 1,022
- Shannon Mikesky (2016) - 996
UP NEXT
Alabama travels to Columbia, S.C., to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks (11-14, 4-9 SEC) on Friday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. CT before returning home to host the LSU Tigers (17-7, 8-5 SEC) on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. CT.
