Jennifer Bibber had 8 of her game-high 26 kills in game one to lead Alabama past Illinois State 30-24, 30-26, 30-32 and 30-26 in the championship match of the 2002 Barker GMC Volleyball Classic at Redbird Arena.
The Redbirds had four players in double-figure kills, and led game 4, 24-17. Then the Crimson Tide scored eight in a row to take the lead 25-24, and eventually the match.
Alabamas head coach, Judy Green, gave credit to her team for pulling out the win.
Volleyball is a true team sport and you have to have heart. I liked their heart tonight, said Green. I know my team responds to how I respond. If I am nervous, they are nervous. We won a lot of large rallies and that takes a lot of poise.
Redbird coach Sharon Dingman agreed.
There were 12 really talented volleyball players on the court tonight, said Dingman. We played very hard and pursued balls in a way that gave us an edge, and Alabama did the same. They had 25 or more service errors in their first two matches, but just nine tonight. They brought their great serve game tonight and we expected that.
Erin Jones, Staci Boyce and Emily Kabbes shared the Redbird kill leadership with 13. Jenny Kabbes had 11 with a game-high 6 blocks. ISU had an 11.5 to 6 team block advantage and out-hit Bama .269 to .219 by percentage, but the Tide had 67 kills to ISUs 53.
Bibber was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Erin Price and tournament most valuable player Erin Heffner, plus Jenny Kabbes and Kelly Rikli from Illinois State, Florida States Kristin Frye and Marshalls Heidi Kuethe. Heffner had 14 kills and 14 digs against Illinois State.
Florida State took third place by defeating Marshall 32-30, 30-23, 30-21 in the 5 p.m. match. Alex Sevillano had 12 kills and Erica Bunch added 11 for the Seminoles, 1-2. Kuethe led Marshall, 0-3, with 8 kills.
Emily Kabbes had 15 kills, 4 service aces and 4 blocks to help the Redbirds reach the finals with a 31-33, 30-23, 30-21, 30-22 win over Marshall. Setter Riklis 41 set assists, 12 digs and 5 kills kept the Redbird offense balanced and the Thundering Herd defense off balance as Illinois State went to 2-0 to start a season for just the sixth time in 20 years. In all five previous 2-0 seasons (1982, 1983, 1984, 1989 and 1992), the Birds earned NCAA Tournament bids.
Bibber had eight of her match-high 19 kills in game 3 as Alabama beat Florida State 30-26, 27-30, 30-19, 30-28 in the first match of the day. The Seminoles got 12 kills from Frye but were out-hit .308 to .243.
Illinois States next action is Friday against Wisconsin in the InnTowner Classic at Madison, Wis.
