Alabama
Kentucky
Volleyball Falls to No. 18 Kentucky in Four Sets
9/29/2013 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 29, 2013
TUSCALOOSA, ALA. - The Alabama volleyball team opened Southeastern Conference play with a 3-1 (25-15, 19-25, 19-25, 23-25) loss to the No. 18 ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday afternoon from Foster Auditorium. With the loss, the Crimson Tide falls to 12-3 on the season and 0-1 in SEC play. Kentucky improves to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
The Crimson Tide got double digits in kills from freshmen Brittany Thomas and Krystal Rivers, senior right-side hitter Andrea McQuaid and sophomore outside hitter Laura Steiner. Thomas had a match-high 14 kills, Rivers added 13 and McQuaid and Steiner had 10 each. McQuaid had a match-high .529 hitting percentage, as she converted 10 kills on 17 attempts with just one error.
Sierra Wilson had a match-high 42 assists and Kryssi Daniels had a match-high 17 digs. Brittany Thomas posted her sixth double-double of the season with 10 digs to go along with her 14 kills.
After posting a .484 hitting percentage in the opening set, Alabama finished the match with a .211 mark after being held to a .034 percentage in set three and a .103 mark in set four. Kentucky, who snapped the Tide's 10-match winning streak, hit .328 overall and finished the day with 13.5 blocks against the Alabama hitters.
Kentucky's Whitney Billings matched Thomas' 14 kills while hitting .488, committing just one error on 29 attempts. Lauren O'Conner had 11 kills and Alexandra Morgan and Morgan Bergren had eight kills each. Bergren had a .357 hitting percentage and led the Wildcats with 36 assists. Alabama took an early lead in the match, winning the first set 25-15. The Tide hit an impressive .484 (17-2/31) in the opening set, as four players had at least three kills for UA. Thomas had four kills in the set, while McQuaid, Rivers and Steiner had three each.
In the second set, Alabama raced out to an 11-8 lead, prompting a Kentucky timeout. Out of the break, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to take a 15-8 lead in the set. UA answered with four of the next six points to trail 15-17, before UK extended its lead to six points (23-17), before winning the set 25-19. The Wildcats posted a .538 hitting percentage in the second set, while holding the Tide to a .241 mark.
In the third set, Alabama trailed 7-6 before Rivers served four straight aces to give the Tide an 11-7 lead, forcing UK to call a timeout. A Billings kill ended the string of five straight points for Bama, sparking a 4-0 run for the Wildcats to even the set at 11-11. Kentucky opened a 20-15 lead, before three straight points got the Tide within two. The Tide scored just one more point to close the set, as the Wildcats took a 2-1 lead in the match after winning the set 25-19.
With the score tied at 11-11 in the fourth set, the Wildcats got a kill from O'Conner and a pair of Alabama errors to take a 14-11 advantage. Then, Kentucky led 18-14 only to see the Tide rally back from the deficit to even the set at 23-23 on the 10th kill by Steiner. An error by Alabama gave the Wildcats match point and O'Conner put the match away with her 11th kill for a 25-23 fourth set UK victory.
The Crimson Tide returns to action with a SEC match on Wednesday night, when they travel to Auburn for a 7 p.m. CT match against the Tigers from the Auburn Arena.
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