Alabama
Kentucky
Volleyball Falls 3-1 at Kentucky
10/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 15, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Senior Alyssa Meuth had a career-high and match-best 20 kills, but the volleyball team lost a 3-1 (15-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-12) decision to Kentucky Friday at Memorial Coliseum. With the loss, the Crimson Tide drops to 9-9 overall and 1-7 in the Southeastern Conference, while the Wildcats improve to 10-9 on the season and 4-5 versus league opponents.
"We were very inconsistent tonight and made too many errors to win," Alabama head coach Judy Green said. "We lost the serve and pass battle tonight, and that made it tough."
Meuth was the lone Alabama attacker to reach double-digit kills with sophomore Kayla Fitterer just shy at nine. Senior Kayla Schmidt and junior Stephanie Riley combined for 41 of the Tide's 49 assists. Schmidt also had a team-high 15 digs for her 15th-career double-double and fourth of the season.
Kentucky put up the first point of the match off a kill before Alabama quickly countered with a block from redshirt sophomore Leigh Moyer and Meuth tying the match at 1-1. The Wildcats scored on the next possession with another kill, but the Tide earned the next two to grab hold of the lead. Alabama remained in front and used a 10-1 run sparked by a trio of kills from Meuth to take its largest lead of the match at 21-9. Kentucky fought off a pair of set point opportunities for the Tide; however a kill from Fitterer would end the frame 25-15 in favor of Alabama.
The Wildcats led early in the second until back-to-back points gave the Tide a 3-2 edge. Kentucky managed to tie the score three times before jumping back on top with a kill to take the 9-8 advantage. Alabama, thanks to three consecutive kills, grabbed hold of the lead once again at 13-12, but once again, the Wildcats countered and seized the lead for good en route to a 25-22 victory to even the match at one set apiece.
Kentucky's momentum carried over into the third as the Wildcats led throughout the early parts of the set. The Tide took its first lead of the frame at 9-8 off a Meuth kill and stayed in front until Kentucky rattled off back-to-back kills for the 14-13 edge. Alabama then scored the next two points for the third lead change in the set, but the Wildcats would come back with a kill and a block that set the score at 16-15. From there, the Tide managed to tie the frame on three occasions; however it would not come any closer with Kentucky ending the third on a 7-1 run to win the set 25-19.
The Wildcats dominated the fourth from the start opening the set with three consecutive points. Alabama remained within three until Kentucky distanced itself behind the efforts of a 14-3 run for the 20-6 lead. The Tide would go point-for-point with the Wildcats from here, but the deficit was too much. Kentucky would end up winning the set 25-12 to take the match 3-1.
The Wildcats hit slightly better than the Tide with a .248 overall percentage compared to Alabama's .242 percent. The teams were nearly identical in several other categories as well; however Kentucky did have three more blocks at the net and less service errors.
Alabama now travels to Knoxville, Tenn., for a Sunday matinee match with the No. 24 Lady Volunteers. First serve is slated for 12:30 p.m. CT.
