Alabama
Arkansas
Volleyball Drops Dramatic Five-Setter at Arkansas
10/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 9, 2009
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Despite four players with double-figure kills, the volleyball team suffered a 3-2 loss (21-25, 25-21, 14-25, 28-26, 24-22) at the hands of the Arkansas Razorbacks Friday in Barnhill Arena. With the loss, the Crimson Tide drops to 6-11 on the season and 4-3 against Southeastern Conference opponents, while Arkansas improves to 9-9 overall and 3-4 versus league foes.
"Our players played their hearts out," said head coach Judy Green. "We had lots of chances to win the match, even in four sets. It's unfortunate that anyone had to lose that match because it was so incredible. I'm proud of how we competed, but we still need to be more consistent."
Leading Alabama's attacking core was junior Alyssa Meuth with 16 kills. Also tallying double-figure kills in the match was senior Brooks Webster with 15, sophomore Ashley Frazier with 14 and freshman Kayla Fitterer with 12. With her fifth kill on the night, Webster entered the Tide's top 10 list in career kills with 1,126. Junior Kayla Schmidt dished out career-high tying 39 assists in addition to 16 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
Arkansas got on the board first with a block to start the match, but didn't stay in front for long as Alabama quickly tied it on the next play with a kill from Frazier. Neither team went ahead by more than a point for the next several series until the Tide strung together a three-point run setting the score at 8-5. Alabama continued to stay in front and went up by as many as five forcing the Razorbacks to call a timeout. That break in play was beneficial for the home team as Arkansas put together a three-point run of its own behind a trio of kills. The Razorbacks cut the lead to one on four occasions, but the Tide remained in control and closed out the first 25-21.
The second set began similar to the first with the back-and-forth battle for the lead. In all, the frame saw 11 ties and five lead changes, but it would be the change of command at 12-11 that would be the most important for Arkansas as it would hold on to the lead from the point on. A pair of consecutive Alabama blocks late in the set brought the Tide to within two at 23-21, but the Razorbacks used a kill and block to go into intermission with the set 25-21.
Alabama got off to a quick start in the third with kills from Meuth and junior Calli Johnson to take the 3-0 edge. The Tide steadily built on its lead and soon found itself up by seven which made the Arkansas bench call for a stoppage in play. Alabama would continue to roll after the break never allowing the Razorbacks to get any closer than six points of the lead. The Tide finished things off with a kill from redshirt freshman Leigh Moyer to earn the 25-14 set win.
Alabama took an early fourth-set advantage, but Arkansas stayed with Crimson and White and soon tied the set at 5-5. From that point, the Razorbacks went on a scoring spree with seven unanswered points setting the score at 12-5. Following its second timeout of the set, Alabama rattled off three-consecutive points to erase part of its largest deficit of the match. The Tide continued to fight and would eventually find itself on top thanks to a Webster kill at 17-16. This set up for a dramatic end to the fourth frame that would go in favor of one team to another until Arkansas finally grabbed the 28-26 win.
Alabama jumped out early in the fifth with a 3-0 lead, but, once again, the Razorbacks would not go away easily. It would be another nail biter down the stretch as the set, which is normally played to 15, went the length of nearly another entire set with Arkansas coming out on top 24-22.
Alabama continues its road swing Sunday when it takes on Mississippi at 1:30 p.m. (CST) in Oxford.
