Alabama
Cal State Fullerton
Volleyball Rallies to Defeat Cal State Fullerton in Five Sets
8/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
FULLERTON, Calif. - After falling in the first two sets, Alabama rallied to force a fifth set and eventually earn the gutsy win, 3-2.
Alabama (1-1) hit .192 as a team in the first two sets but improved to hit .236 over the final three, while holding Cal State Fullerton (0-2) under .200 in those same three sets. Brittany Thomas led the offense with a career-high 26 kills and .408 hitting percentage, adding 15 digs for a double-double. Krystal Rivers and Tabitha Brown were also in double-digit kills with 18 and 11, respectively, as Brown also earned 11 digs for her second double-double in as many matches. Natalie Murison posted a career best 25 digs on defense while Sierra Wilson paced the offense with 69 assists.
The Titans took advantage of early errors by the Crimson Tide, as Alabama was forced to take a timeout and regroup trailing 11-6. The offense began to find its rhythm out of the break, with three kills by Thomas and a pair by Rivers sparking a 7-3 run to close the gap to one point, trailing 14-13 as Fullerton took a timeout. The teams continued to trade points back and forth but the Titans started to pull away late, leading 22-18 as the Tide took its final timeout of the set. Cal State Fullerton would hold onto the four-point margin and win the set, 25-21.
Fullerton carried its momentum into the second set, holding on to a four-point lead for a majority of the first half. A timeout by the home team with the score at 18-16 was quickly followed with another by Alabama, as Cal State Fullerton held a three-point lead at the 20-point mark, 20-17. The lead was short-lived, as Alabama knocked in three unanswered points to tie the set at 20-20, but Fullerton would answer right back to reach set point, 24-21, and force the Tide to take its final timeout. Alabama would get a kill and an ace to draw within one but a blocking error would end it as Fullerton won, 25-23, to take a 2-0 match advantage.
After a 10-minute break between sets, Alabama would come out of the locker room recharged and own the early momentum in set three, leading 10-5 as Fullerton took a timeout. The Tide held onto its five-point lead at the next timeout, up 15-10, but the Titans quickly closed the gap to one point as Alabama was forced to take a timeout leading 20-19. The Tide would eventually hold on to win the set, 25-22, on Thomas' ninth kill of the set to force a fourth set.
The two teams traded points back and forth to open set four when, tied at 5-5, Fullerton would score four unanswered points to take a 9-5 lead as Alabama took a timeout. The Tide would answer with four points to tie it back up at 9-9, capped by a Thomas service ace as the Titans took a timeout. Alabama's third service ace of the set, this time by Sierra Wilson, would give the Tide a 16-11 lead as Fullerton took its final timeout. Alabama held onto its five-point lead at the 20-point mark, 20-15, and the team's fourth ace of the set made it 21-15. The Tide would reach set point, 24-17, but the Titans refused to go down easy, scoring four consecutive points before Alabama finally ended the set with a kill by Thomas, 25-21, to force a fifth set.
Neither team would gain a significant lead early in the fifth set, as the two went back and forth with Fullerton holding the 8-7 at the halfway mark. Alabama regained the lead off a huge kill by Rivers on an overpass to make it 10-9 as Fullerton took a timeout. Back-to-back points by the Tide extended the lead to 12-9 as the Titans were forced to burn their final timeout. Fullerton scored a pair of points to draw within one, 12-11, as Alabama took a timeout. The Tide would be the first to reach match point, 14-13, but a service error and a Fullerton kill would give the home team match point, 15-14, as Alabama took its final timeout. The two teams would trade points down the stretch with Alabama eventually earning the win, 18-16, to complete the comeback.
Alabama wraps up its opening weekend tonight in Malibu against Pepperdine (1-0) at 8 p.m. CT.
