Bama Volleyball Loses in Four Games at Tennessee
10/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Alabama volleyball team battled but fell short in the end dropping a 3-1 (30-26, 24-30, 21-30, 24-30) decision at Tennessee on Sunday afternoon.
With the loss, Alabama falls to 8-11 on the season and 3-5 in Southeastern Conference play. Tennessee, who improves to 16-4 and 6-2 in the SEC, extended their home win streak to six with the victory.
"We had way too many hitting errors today," said UA head coach Judy Green. "We hurt ourselves with our passing inconsistencies. Our struggles allowed Tennessee to play much better defense."
Tennessee got off to a fast start in game one taking a 9-3 lead. Alabama kept battling and trimmed into their deficit. The Tide eventually knotted the score at 17 and even earned their first lead of the match moments later at 18-17. UA kept things rolling and pushed their margin to 26-21, before a late UT rally closed the score to 28-26. Alabama scored the final two points to take the opening game 30-26. Both team's offenses were scoring well as Bama posted a .429 hitting performance and Tennessee hit at a .345 clip.
Game two saw the two squads trade points for several rotations before the Lady Vols strung several points together to take a 15-9 advantage. UT maintained their margin for much of the rest of the frame as the Crimson Tide could only get as close as five points (25-20). Tennessee finished with a flurry earning the 30-24 win and tying the match score at one.
The Lady Vols rushed out to another early lead in game three, leading 10-3 before the Tide fought back to close the gap to 11-8. Tennessee answered the Bama charge with one of their own scoring several points and then cruising to a 30-21 victory. UA struggled offensively hitting at a -.029 pace due in part to a rash of inconsistent passing. UT on the other hand was clicking on all cylinders posting their highest hitting of the day at .353.
Alabama grabbed the early lead in the fourth frame at 8-4. Tennessee charged back to knot the score at 8 as the two teams settled into a side out battle. Neither team led by more than two as the scores climbed to 19 each. The Lady Vols gained a slight edge after a few Bama miscues then closed the door on the match with a late charge to win 30-24.
Erin Heffner posted 14 kills to lead the Alabama offense followed by 13 kills from Jennifer Bibber. Senior setter Erin Price finished as the Tide's most effective hitter hitting at a .235 pace with eight kills. Kelley Potter paced the Bama defense with 14 digs. Tennessee placed a trio of hitters in double digits led by 17 kills from Amy Morris, who also led the UT defense with 14 digs.
The Crimson Tide now returns home for the start of a season-long six match home stand. Alabama welcomes South Alabama on
Wednesday night at 7 p.m. before hosting Mississippi State (Friday) and Ole Miss (Sunday) this weekend.
Alabama (8-11, 3-5 SEC) 30-24-21-24
Tennessee (16-4, 6-2 SEC) 26-30-30-30
