Alabama
South Carolina
Volleyball Defeats South Carolina, 3-1, Sunday in Tuscaloosa
10/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Following a quick turnaround from Friday's road trip, Alabama battled against a resilient South Carolina squad in Foster Auditorium to a four-set victory Sunday, giving the Crimson Tide its fourth SEC victory of the season.
Alabama (16-4, 4-2, SEC) struggled in the opening sets, hitting under .200 in sets one and two, but came out strongly after intermission, hitting .364 and .321 in the third and fourth, respectively. Kat Hutson led the offense for the second-straight match, knocking in 17 kills, while Brittany Thomas and Leah Lawrence were close behind with 11 kills each. The 11 kills are a season-high for Lawrence while Thomas added a team-leading 14 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.
South Carolina (13-4, 3-2 SEC) avoided the sweep with a late comeback to win set three, but could not close the gap late in the fourth set. Darian Dozier and Taylr McNeil paced the offense with 11 kills each while Jacqy Angermiller led all players with five blocks.
The Gamecocks started strongly in the opening frame, forcing Alabama into an early timeout with the Tide trailing 6-2. South Carolina continued to extend its lead, moving ahead by six, 16-10, as Alabama burned its second timeout. After the break, the Tide would charge back into the game, tying it at 17-17 off a 7-1 run and eventually take a 20-19 lead as South Carolina burned its second timeout. The closing points were very tense, as the Gamecocks and Tide were tied at 23-23. A South Carolina service error set up set point for Alabama and a kill by Hutson sealed the narrow 25-23 victory for Alabama.
Alabama built a 7-3 lead early in set two, but South Carolina would fight back to tie it at 13-13 and would take a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. A kill by Thomas tied things up after the media timeout and that sparked a 5-2 run by the Tide to take a 19-17, as South Carolina took a timeout. The Gamecocks remained frustrated four points later, as they took their final timeout with the Tide on top 22-18. The visitors would only score one more point for the remainder of the set, as Alabama won 25-19 to take a 2-0 match lead.
The Tide would hold a slim lead for the first half of set three, leading by two, 15-13, at the media timeout. Leading by two later, 18-16, a solo block by Thomas gave the Tide a three-point lead to force a South Carolina timeout. The two teams were neck-and-neck at match point, with Alabama leading 24-22. South Carolina would quickly turn the tables, scoring three unanswered to reach se point, 25-24, as Alabama took a timeout. Alabama would tie it at 25-25 but the Gamecocks would score back-to-back points to avoid the sweep and win set three, 27-25.
South Carolina would score six unanswered points to open the third set before an attack error gave Alabama its first point of the set. The Tide wasn't down for long however, as a kill by Lawrence tied the match at 9-9 and an 8-1 run following that mark pushed Alabama ahead 17-10 as South Carolina burned both its timeouts in the process. With Alabama up 19-11, South Carolina would score four-straight points to draw within four, down 19-15. Alabama reached match point after a 5-3 run and would close the match out two points later as a kill by Hutson sealed the 25-18 set victory and 3-1 match victory.
Alabama resumes play next Sunday Oct. 19, welcoming Ole Miss (15-3, 1-3 SEC) to Foster Auditorium for a 1 p.m. CT match. The match will also be the Tide's annual Power of Pink match, which aims to raise awareness for breast cancer and raise funds for the DCH Breast Cancer Fund.
