Alabama
Ole Miss
Alabama Volleyball Falls in Four to Ole Miss Wednesday
11/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama volleyball fell in four sets to Ole Miss Wednesday night in Foster Auditorium.
Alabama (16-15, 10-7 SEC) struggled offensively and from the service line, committing a combined 39 errors. Ole Miss (22-10, 8-9 SEC) won the first set before the Crimson Tide closed the second set with seven unanswered points to win, 26-24, and even the match at 1-1. The Rebels won the third set, 25-22, and closed out the match with a 25-19 victory in the fourth. Krystal Rivers led the team with 25 kills while Natalie Murison led the defense with 23 digs, just two shy of her career high.
Alabama fell behind early in the opening set, 9-7, but the Tide took the lead with five unanswered points as Ole Miss took a timeout trailing 12-9. The two teams battled back and forth down the stretch when Ole Miss took a 23-22 lead following six tie scores and three lead changes, forcing an Alabama timeout. The Rebels reached set point immediately after a break as a Tide attack error made it 24-22, but three straight points by Alabama swung the set back in the Tide's favor, leading 25-24 as Ole Miss took a timeout. Back-to-back points gave Ole Miss set point a second time, 26-25, and a kill by Nakeyta Clair ended it as the Rebels won, 27-25.
Tied at 8-8 in set two, Alabama started to add some cushion with a 7-4 run, leading 15-12 at the media timeout. Later with Alabama leading 18-17, Ole Miss scored four straight points as the Tide burned both its timeouts in the process. Ole Miss extended the run to six points, leading 23-18 before Alabama finally regained possession following an Ole Miss service error. Ole Miss continued on to reach set point, 24-19, but service error gave the ball back to Alabama and a Rivers service ace in the following point made it 24-21 as Ole Miss took a timeout. The Tide continued to roll after the break, scoring a pair of points to draw within one point, 24-23, and back-to-back aces by Rivers made it set point Alabama, 25-24. A kill by Rivers on the next possession capped the 7-0 scoring run by Alabama and gave the Tide the 26-24 win to even the match at 1-1.
The two teams found themselves tied at 8-8 again in set three, but Ole Miss held the advantage this time at the media timeout, leading 15-11. A Tide attack error stretched the Rebels' lead to five points but Alabama eventually rallied to tie the set at 18-18. A block and a kill by the Rebels gave them a two-point lead at the 20-point mark as Alabama took a timeout trailing 20-18. The Rebels were the first to reach set point, 24-20, but back-to-back points by Alabama extended the set to draw within two before Ole Miss ended it, winning 25-22 to take a 2-1 match advantage.
With Alabama leading 6-3 early in set four, Ole Miss went on an 8-1 run to lead 11-7 as the Tide took its first timeout. A 5-1 run by the Rebels after the break extended the lead to eight points with Alabama taking its final timeout down 16-8. Ole Miss went on to score five more unanswered points after the break, totaling 10 straight points before a service error gave Alabama back possession trailing 21-9. Ole Miss took a timeout later leading 22-15 but would hold on to win the fourth set, 25-19, and the match, 3-1.
Alabama wraps up the regular season on Friday, Nov. 27 in Tuscaloosa against the LSU Tigers (9-18, 5-11 SEC) in Tuscaloosa.
