The Alabama Crimson Tide women’s volleyball team plays host to Alabama A&M in the Tide’s home opener at Tuesday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. in Foster Auditorium.

With a team of six returning and nine new players, head coach Ed Allen is pleased with the progress his team is making in terms of growing together.

“I think it’s obviously a much better group of kids in terms of chemistry,” Allen said. “I think they fit personality-wise together. Now it’s just a matter of blending their physical talents.”

The Tide began their season last weekend with a trip to Massachusetts for tournament play. They finished the weekend 2-1, with wins over Holy Cross and Sacred Heart and a loss to Northeastern.

“More than anything else, we’ve got a lot of new players, so it’s great to just be able to play somebody else to begin with,” Allen said. “We’ve recognized the fact that we’re looking for some more consistency, particularly in our side-out offense.”

Errors and inconsistencies on offense led the Tide to give up a few points over the weekend. The team intends to make consistency a priority as the season progresses.

Junior Andrea McQuaid said as they learn each other’s tendencies, the team’s play will become stronger.

“I think there’s a high ceiling for us to grow because it’s so new,” McQuaid said. “We are a family and we’re getting closer and that’s something we work on on and off the court.”

As a returning player, McQuaid has experience on her side.

“Coach tells us that you can only control what you do on the court,” McQuaid said. “We’re working on reducing errors because that’s something we’ve had trouble with. We just want to be more consistent.”

The Tide hopes to strengthen their play as a whole as they prepare for theit next game.

“We’re looking to grow in a few areas: in our ability to side out at a greater percentage and our ability to stay consistent in that side out offense,” Allen said. “As well as in our ability to shut the opponent down and not allow them to establish runs.”

Freshman Sierra Wilson said the team is putting great emphasis on mental focus as they go forward into the season.

“A game is a different atmosphere than just practice,” Wilson said. “You learn to react under pressure, and you are able to learn around each other. [Alabama A&M] is a great opportunity for us to focus on our level of mental toughness and not worry about what anyone else is doing on their side of the court.”