Alabama
Kentucky
Volleyball Wins Thriller Against Kentucky 3-2
11/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 7, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Behind a dominating performance from sophomore Kayla Fitterer, who finished with a career-high 34 kills and 24 digs, the volleyball team beat Kentucky 3-2 (16-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-13) Sunday in the CAVE. The win is the first for the Crimson Tide over the Wildcats since Oct. 19, 2007, and brings Alabama to 10-15 overall and 2-13 against Southeastern Conference opponents. The loss drops Kentucky to 14-12 on the season and 8-8 versus league foes.
"I thought we let Kentucky stay in system the first two sets," Alabama head coach Judy Green said. "We finally stepped up and served the ball better later in the match. We also got our feet in the right spots to make better passes. Our team played wonderfully today and never stopped fighting. We had the confidence to win today."
Joining Fitterer with double-digit kills was senior Alyssa Meuth with 11 and freshman Brianne Vande Griend with 10. Senior Kayla Schmidt and junior Stephanie Riley dished out a combined 61 assists. Schmidt also had 17 digs for her 17th career double-double.
In the first set, the score remaining close until a 5-1 run by Kentucky put the Wildcats up 10-5. Kentucky continued to build on its lead going up by as many as 10 in the frame. With the score set at 24-14, Alabama rattled off a pair of kills to keep the first alive, but a service error on the next play put the set away giving the Wildcats a 25-16 win.
The Tide stayed close throughout most of the second and eventually tied the frame at 11-11. From there, Kentucky went on a 7-1 run capped off by a kill. Alabama would pull within two points late at 21-19, however the Wildcats would outscore the Tide 4-1 down the stretch for the 25-20 victory.
The third was neck-and-neck throughout as neither team took more than a three-point advantage until the later stages of the set. Alabama got on the board first with a Fitterer kill, but Kentucky quickly took the lead with a pair of kills. The Wildcats remained in front until another Fitterer kill and service ace from sophomore Kelsey Anderson put the Tide on top 14-13. Kentucky took one more lead in the set at 16-15, but Alabama grabbed hold once again thanks to a kill from freshman Shelbi Goode and an ace from Riley. After three more kills from Fitterer the Tide finished off a 25-21 victory.
Kentucky led 7-2 early in the fourth thanks to a 5-0 run on senior Lauren Rapp's serve. The Wildcats lead hovered around five points until Alabama began to close the gap with an attack error by Kentucky's Gretchen Giesler and an ace by senior libero Mary Catherine Aune. Fitterer again took over late in the set allowing the Tide to outscore Kentucky 12-6 as the fourth came to a close. The 25-23 Alabama victory forced the match into a decisive fifth set.
In the 15 point fifth set neither team was able to pull away from the other until Kentucky took a 10-8 lead on an attack error by Goode. The Tide rallied around the strength of its outside hitters, recording seven kills in the next 10 points to claim the victory. Fitterer slammed home the match-winning kill, capping the sophomore's historic performance.
"Kayla had one of the most complete and courageous performances Alabama has seen in a long time," Green said. "This was, by far, her best match here. I hope what she did today helped proved to her that she is capable of taking over a match."
Next up, Alabama hits the road to take on South Carolina and No. 1 Florida. The Tide will face the Gamecocks on Friday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. CT before meeting the Gators on Sunday, Nov. 14, at noon CT.
