After spending a year on the sidelines, redshirt freshman Krystal Rivers has brought new life to The University of Alabama volleyball team. The middle blocker leads the team in points with 90 and has 75 kills in six matches, including 21 against University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

“Krystal’s one of the most athletic kids in the country and in the league, and we’re expecting some pretty big things for her as she plays here over the next four years,” head coach Ed Allen said.

Rivers didn’t start out in volleyball. In fact, she played tennis for three years in high school. Her junior year, she tried out for volleyball after playing one year in seventh grade. She made JV but said she worked all year to make the varsity squad. Her senior year, she played varsity and club volleyball for the first time.

“She’s a pure athlete,” senior Andrea McQuaid said. “She works hard. Everyone respects her. She has the trust in her teammates. She doesn’t ever point fingers or blame. She’s just a great teammate to have on the team, which just adds to how great of an athlete she is.”

Rivers was named MVP of the Florida International Tournament after her dominant performance, including 39 kills over the weekend.

“She definitely lights a fire under some people and gets us going,” McQuaid said. “She can get runs on points. Her play is a momentum changer.”

In the five-set win over UNC Wilmington, she had six kills and went 6-for-7 in the fifth set alone.

“She’s like a lifeboat more than anything else,” Allen said. “We were struggling in a match that we pulled out in five that had she not hit [.731] and put up 20 plus kills, and only two hitting errors, we’d probably be talking about how we’re 3-3 instead of 4-2.”

Despite her recent success, Rivers said she is continuing to look for ways to improve.

“I know a lot of people don’t like to think of the match or think of their performance in previous matches, but I do better when I just sit, and I reflect on what I’ve done in past matches, what I can do better and just overall what I expect of myself,” she said. “Like I expect myself to be a consistent player, to be a big hitter, to be a better blocker. Those are some of the things I think about before a game.”

After traveling to New York and Florida consecutive weekends for tournaments, the team is looking forward to playing at home.

“I’m so excited about the home tournament this weekend, because the atmosphere in Foster is just amazing,” Rivers said. “We’re going to have some tough competition, but it’s going to get us prepared for upcoming SEC play.”

Alabama was 10-6 at home last season and went 4-0 in the 2012 Hampton Inn Bama Bash.

“It’s nice to be at home,” Allen said. “An opportunity to play four matches at home and sleep in our own beds and more importantly not see the inside of an airplane for a little while will be huge. Playing here in Foster should excite our players, and we should see some special performances because of that.”