The Crimson Tide volleyball team will travel to Florida and South Carolina for this weekend’s matchups. The Tide will travel to Gainesville for Friday night’s competition. Head coach Ed Allen expects a tough match from the Gators, who have lost two games in a row. “It’s always a difficult place to play,” he said. “Probably increasingly more difficult after the two losses. They’re looking to come out of a slump pretty quickly. We think they’ve got as much talent, if not the best talent, in the league.” Florida’s senior setter Kelly Murphy, who had the highest hitting percentage in the first matchup against the Tide, is also rumored to be a frontrunner for Southeastern Conference Volleyball Player of the Year. Alabama will have help in the form of junior Kayla Fitterer, though, who is returning from a minor injury that kept her out of the first games against the Gators and Gamecocks. “I’m excited to get out there,” Fitterer said. “I haven’t played them all year, and it killed me from the bench watching them play against us.” The Tide’s lineup will be shuffled around this weekend, putting much of the focus on senior Stephanie Riley. “This new lineup requires Stephanie to play in all six rotations and run a 5-1 around her, creating a defensive challenge for us,” Allen said. The 5-1 rotation is a tougher serve-receive rotation than the normal 4-2 rotation. Fitterer said practice would be extremely important this week in preparation with the new lineup. “We need to finish with a strong week of practice,” she said. “We need to just work on us right now, especially this week with some changes in the lineup.” Riley is the lone senior for this year’s Tide squad. With six games remaining in the season, and the fact that she is now a key player for the weekend, Riley has an opportunity to influence the team. “My main goal throughout the whole season was just to impact this program in anyway I can,” Riley said. “Coach and I talk a lot about how I might not exactly be here to see the results of our hard work this year, but he keeps reminding me that I do have an impact. I want to make sure that I keep working hard and putting everything out there so the girls next year, I can set an example for them and have an effect on where this team goes in the future.” Alabama will play at Florida on Friday at 3 p.m. and at South Carolina on Sunday at 12 p.m. before returning to Foster Auditorium for the last home games of the season.