Alabama
Kentucky
Volleyball Drops Match to No. 11 Kentucky 3-1
11/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 6, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Junior Alyssa Meuth and senior Brooks Webster combined for 25 kills, but it wasn't enough as the volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-11, 22-25, 25-12, 25-15) decision Friday to 11th-ranked Kentucky at Memorial Coliseum. The loss drops the Crimson Tide to 7-18 overall and 5-10 against Southeastern Conference opponents, while the win moved the Wildcats to 23-2 on the season and 13-1 in league matches.
"Kentucky is definitely one of the top teams in the country, and they played like it tonight," said head coach Judy Green. "I'm proud of the way our team bounced back effort-wise after getting out to a slow start. I'm also proud of the fact that we won every long rally in the match. We just really had difficulty tonight with our first contact on the ball."
Meuth led Alabama with 14 kills followed closely by Webster with 11. Junior Kayla Schmidt tallied 36 assists in the match, while freshman Kelsey Anderson registered her second 20-plus dig performance of the season with 20 on the night.
For the match, Alabama had 11 service errors and allowed Kentucky to collect seven service aces. In addition, the Wildcats racked up nine total blocks compared to the Tide's two rejections.
The early stages of the first set were near even until Kentucky scored eight unanswered points for the 13-4 advantage. At that point, the Tide and Wildcats traded points, but Kentucky's lead was too much to overcome for Alabama. The Wildcats would close out the frame with four consecutive points, including a pair of blocks, to take the set 25-11.
After a brief Kentucky edge in the second, the Tide grabbed hold of the lead at 4-3 off a kill from Webster and held on throughout despite a late scare from the home team. Alabama built up a five-point buffer before the Wildcats clawed their way back, thanks to a 5-0 run, tying the set at 20-20. Alabama then recorded a trio of kills to pull within two points of the win and would eventually take the frame 25-22.
The Tide collected a pair of quick points for the 2-0 lead before Kentucky put together a 9-1 run to jump on top. The Wildcats continued to distance themselves from Alabama pulling ahead by double digits for the first time at 15-5. Kentucky's largest lead of 13 came on set point as Wildcat senior Sarah Rumely blocked an attack attempt by Tide junior Calli Johnson to give Kentucky the 25-12 win in the third.
The Wildcats delivered the initial blow in the fourth with a kill from junior Sarah Mendoza, but back-to-back kills from Meuth gave Alabama the early edge. The Tide remained in front for the next few series until a kill from Lauren Rapp put Kentucky on top 7-6. Alabama kept close at first, but the Wildcats would again string together a lethal run to pull ahead by double figures. Kentucky senior BriAnne Sauer sealed the win for the Wildcats with a service ace on set point for the 25-15 win in the fourth.
The Tide continues its road trip at Tennessee on Sunday, Nov. 8 taking on the Lady Volunteers at 12:30 p.m. (CST). Live scoring and video will be available by clicking here.
