Alabama
South Carolina
Volleyball Falls 3-1 at South Carolina
11/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 12, 2010
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-12, 25-19, 22-25, 25-17) decision Friday at South Carolina. The loss drops the Crimson Tide to 10-16 overall and 2-14 in the Southeastern Conference, while the Gamecocks improve to 6-20 on the season and 3-13 versus league opponents.
"South Carolina outplayed us in every area of the match," Alabama head coach Judy Green said. "They deserved the win."
Reigning SEC Player of the Week Kayla Fitterer recorded a team-high 16 kills, while senior Mary Catherine Aune led the defense with a season-best 15 digs. Senior Kayla Schmidt led the setting duo with 21 assists, and redshirt sophomore Leigh Moyer had a hand in three of Alabama's five blocks.
South Carolina got out to a commanding 8-0 start in the match, with six of those points being earned. From there, the Gamecocks would continue to build on their lead going up by as many as 15 in the set. Alabama would score a trio of points to avoid three set-point opportunities before a kill gave the Gamecocks the 25-12 victory.
The second set went back and forth through the early stages with eight ties and five lead changes, however a 3-0 run by South Carolina put the Gamecocks in front 15-12. The Tide eventually cut the lead and tied the second again at 19-19, but South Carolina would score six unanswered points to close out the frame 25-19.
Neither team went up by more than three in the third set that saw 12 ties and four lead changes. With the set even at 16, the Tide rattled off three straight points forcing the Gamecocks to burn a timeout. South Carolina jumped back ahead moments later for the 21-20 edge, but Alabama finished the set strong with a 5-1 run. Fitterer capped off the frame with a service ace to give the Tide the 25-22 win.
Alabama led early in the fourth and remained in front until the Gamecocks scored eight straight points for the 16-10 lead. For the duration of the set, South Carolina would hold at least a six-point advantage and would win the match on a service error by the Tide.
South Carolina had 58 kills compared to Alabama's 44 and bettered the Tide in hitting percentage .294 to .131. The Gamecocks also had double the amount of blocks (10.0-5.0), two additional service aces and tallied a better sideout percentage than did the Tide (62.0-46.0).
Next up, Alabama will play its final road match of the season as it takes on the top-ranked Florida Gators on Sunday. Opening serve is slated for noon CT.
