Alabama
Tennessee
Volleyball Topped by No. 22 Tennessee 3-0
11/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 5, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-22) Friday to No. 22 Tennessee in the CAVE. With the loss, the Crimson Tide drops to 9-15 overall and 1-13 against Southeastern Conference opponents, while the Lady Volunteers improve to 20-5 on the season and 11-4 in league matches.
"Tennessee poses a very difficult matchup for any team in our conference," Alabama head coach Judy Green said. "They have four players at the pins that can put the ball away. We did not play good enough defense to win the match tonight. Tennessee also did not make many unforced errors, which we did."
Sophomore Kayla Fitterer and senior Alyssa Meuth led the Alabama offense with 11 kills and 10 kills, respectively. Senior Kayla Schmidt and junior Stephanie Riley split the setting duties combining for 28 of the Tide's 32 assists, while senior Mary Catherine Aune tallied a team-high, and season-best, 14 digs.
"I am proud of Mary Catherine for stepping into the libero role for us tonight," Green added. "She played like a senior out there."
The first set started out close until Tennessee spouted off four unanswered points to go ahead 8-4. From there, the Lady Vols gradually built on their lead and went in front by as many as eight in the set. Alabama was able to avoid the first set-point opportunity the Lady Vols posed, but a kill on the next play would award the frame to Tennessee 25-17.
In the second, it was the Tide coming out strong scoring four of the first five points of the set. Alabama took as much as a five-point edge, but the Lady Vols came right back thanks to a series of kills and blocks to even the set at 13. The Tide did not give up the lead, however, until a pair of kills put Tennessee on top 20-19. The Lady Vols would remain in the lead for the duration of the set that ended on a kill giving them a 25-22 win heading into intermission.
The momentum continued to swing in favor of Tennessee as the visitors scored the first three points of the third. A big block from Alabama's Fitterer and redshirt sophomore Leigh Moyer stopped the Lady Vol run and helped to get the Tide on the board. Tennessee used its strong hitters to rack up a series of kills that put the Lady Vols in front 12-5. Alabama would not go away easily cutting its deficit to one late in the frame thanks to a 5-1 run. With the score set at 20-19, Tennessee delivered a pair of crucial kills causing the Tide to call a timeout. Alabama fought off the first set point with a kill from Fitterer, but a Lady Vol block on the ensuing play ended the set, 25-22, and the match.
Tennessee had 50 kills compared to Alabama's 35 and also led in blocks 8.0-4.0. The Lady Vols sideout percentage clocked in at 77 percent, while the Tide's finished at 62 percent. Tennessee also led the match in hitting percentage (.297-.144), digs (54-44), assists (45-32) and service aces (2-1).
"As a team, I still think we need to find a way to eliminate unforced errors," Green said. "Hopefully we can do that and bounce back for Sunday's match."
Alabama continues its home stand Sunday as the Tide welcomes Kentucky to the CAVE. The match is slated to begin at 1 p.m. and will air live on FSN.
