Alabama
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Mississippi State
Volleyball Outlasts Mississippi State 3-2
9/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 30, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama volleyball team beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs 3-2 (16-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-27, 15-12) Wednesday night in the CAVE. The Crimson Tide improves to 6-9 on the season and 4-1 against Southeastern Conference opponents, while Mississippi State drops to 4-12 overall and 0-5 versus league foes.
"We didn't help ourselves in the first and really got off to a slow start," said head coach Judy Green. "I am most proud of us for sticking in the match. We were down late in the fifth, but went error free to end the match. I have to give Mississippi State credit. They came out ready for us and executed well especially early."
Junior Alyssa Meuth and sophomore Ashley Frazier led the match with 16 kills each. Freshman Kayla Fitterer topped the Tide with 19 digs and three blocks, while junior Kayla Schmidt was Alabama's leader in assists with 36.
Mississippi State came out strong in the first set, quickly getting a trio of points on the board. The Bulldogs led the Tide by 10 points until a Frazier kill and two service aces from junior Mary Catherine Aune brought Alabama back in the set 8-13. Frazier had four kills in the first, but Mississippi State held on to its' lead and won 25-16.
The second was a very different sight for Tide fans as Alabama began the set much stronger and scored the first four points with ease. A kill from Mississippi State tied the set at 4-4. With two kills from Frazier and a service ace from Schmidt, Alabama jumped back on top moments later 12-6. The Tide went on to execute a six-point scoring streak and left the Bulldogs behind at 19-9. Alabama quickly finished up the set winning 25-13.
Mississippi State jumped ahead first in the third taking a 6-2 edge. Alabama lagged close behind, but with three kills in a row, from Frazier, the Tide took a 12-11 advantage. Sophomore Stephanie Riley served two service aces to keep the Alabama in the lead late, and the Tide finished the match with a pair of kills, one from Frazier and one from Meuth, to end the set 25-21.
Mississippi State came out with a vengeance in the fourth set, but Alabama would keep within striking distance and tied the frame at 12-12 behind another kill from Frazier. The Bulldogs and Tide rallied for points over the next five series, but Mississippi State finally took the lead and ran with it. Fitterer's kill late in the fourth tied the set at 25-25, but the Bulldogs would earn the final pair of points to take the set 27-25.
The fifth was led by Mississippi State for almost the entire set. Alabama tied the frame seven times only to have the Bulldogs pull ahead again and again. With four kills from redshirt freshman Leigh Moyer and Meuth each, the Tide was able to jump in the lead near the end of the set. An authoritative kill from Frazier won the set 15-12 keeping Alabama's undefeated streak against league opponents at home this season alive.
The Tide will be back in action Friday, October 2 in the CAVE versus the LSU Tigers. The match is at 7:00 p.m. (CST) and will be televised on Fox Sports South.
