Alabama
Troy
Alabama Volleyball Sweeps Troy, Falls in Five to Saint Louis
9/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama Volleyball split its two Friday matches at the Crimson White Tournament, starting the day off with a sweep over Troy before falling in a hard-fought five set battle against Saint Louis in the night match.
Between the two matches Alabama (3-6) only hit .185 but still limited Troy (5-4) and Saint Louis (5-5) to a combined .192 hitting percentage. The Crimson Tide held the slight edge over its opponents in kills (97-96) and assists (87-86) while posting significant differences in digs (106-92) and service aces (12-6). The one category Alabama fell behind in was blocks, as opponents stuffed 25.0 compared to Alabama's 18.0.
Individually, Brittany Thomas led the way for the Tide offensively with 23 kills and was second on the team in digs with 21, earning her second double-double of the season in the match against Saint Louis. Tabitha Brown was close behind with 20 kills while Kat Hutson and Krystal Rivers also owned a significant offensive workload with 18 and 17 kills each, respectively. Defensively, Natalie Murison paced the team with 30 kills while Rivers was a potent force at the net with nine blocks, four solo and five assisted.
MATCH ONE: ALABAMA 3, TROY 0
Alabama opened play Friday morning at the Crimson White Tournament with a sweep over Troy as the Crimson Tide won by scores of 25-19, 25-15 and 25-22.
Alabama had the lead for the majority of the match over Troy, as there were only two lead changes and seven tie scores in the entire match. After sitting out last weekend, Rivers had a strong return performance with eight kills on 15 swings with no errors, hitting .533. Thomas tied for the team lead with eight kills while Hutson and Leah Lawrence trailed closely behind with six each. Sierra Wilson finished with 29 assists, more than the entire Troy offense, and Murison led the defense with 16 digs.
Alabama got off to a hot start in the opening set, scoring five unanswered points to take a 9-2 lead at Troy's first timeout and making it a double-digit game at 15-5 on a block by Brown as the Trojans took their second timeout. Troy started to close the gap coming out of their second break, pulling within five thanks to an 11-6 run as Alabama was forced to take a timeout leading 21-16. That was as close Troy would get for the remainder of the set, as Alabama eventually took the set, 25-19.
Set two was the most convincing of the match, as Alabama tied a season high for largest margin of victory, winning 25-15. Troy started with the early momentum but Alabama quickly came back to take a 6-5 lead and would not fall behind for the remainder of the set. Later, leading 13-11, the Tide would pad its lead with a 7-1 run, owning an eight-point advantage at the 20-point mark. Alabama would reach set point with a double-digit lead, 24-14, and Troy would score one point before a kill by Thomas put the set away as Alabama won, 25-15, to move ahead 2-0 in the match.
After a commanding win in set two, the third was much more tightly contested. Troy would come out of the break and score four consecutive points before Alabama would get on the board thanks to an attack error. Alabama would tie it twice before taking its first lead of the set, 10-9, on a block by Rivers and Hutson. Alabama would hold onto its slim lead in the closing stages, hitting set point up 24-20. Troy scored back-to-back points to draw within two but Rivers' eighth kill of the day ended it as Alabama secured the sweep with a 25-22 win in set three.
MATCH TWO: SAINT LOUIS 3, ALABAMA 2
Alabama took a 2-0 match lead over Saint Louis into intermission but a resilient Billiken squad managed to even the match at 2-2 and edge out the Crimson Tide in a back-and-forth fifth set, 17-15, as Alabama fell 3-2.
Alabama was hampered by 34 attack errors, partially due to 17.0 Saint Louis blocks, that limited the Tide offense to a .154 hitting percentage. The defense played well, totaling 66 digs with three players in double-digit digs, led by Kryssi Daniels with 15. Thomas earned her sixth double-double of the season, leading the team with 15 kills while adding 14 digs. Wilson finished the night with 49 assists and was two digs shy of a double-double with eight.
Tied at 5-5 in set one, Saint Louis pulled ahead with a 4-1 run to make it 9-6 but a service error allowed Alabama to regain possession as kills by Hutson and Thomas and a block by Thomas and Rivers quickly swung the set back in Alabama's favor, 10-9. The teams would trade back and forth until, trailing 16-14, the Tide rattled off four unanswered points, including a pair of kills by Brown, to make it 18-16 as the Billikens took a timeout. Alabama continued to extend the lead, pulling ahead 22-17 as Saint Louis burned its final timeout but the Billikens would only score two more points as the Tide eventually won, 25-19.
Saint Louis overcame an early Alabama lead in set two to take a 13-10 edge at the halfway point as Alabama called a timeout. The Billikens made it a four-point lead thanks to a blocking error out of the break but Alabama would continue to fight as a 6-2 run tied the set back up at 16-16, forcing a Saint Louis timeout. After four more tie scores down the stretch, a kill by Thomas put Alabama in good position late, up 23-22, as Saint Louis took a timeout. An ace by Daniels gave the Tide set point but the Billikens answered with back-to-back points to tie it at 24-24. Alabama responded right back with two of its own however, as a kill and a block by Rivers sealed the set victory, 26-24, and gave Alabama a 2-0 lead at intermission.
Neither team would take a commanding lead in the opening stages of set three, but three-straight points from the Tide to make it 10-7 forced Saint Louis into an early timeout to stop the momentum. The Billikens clawed their way back, eventually tying it at 15-15 and then retaking the lead at 18-17. Alabama would tie it back up at 18-18 on a kill by Brown but would not move back in front for the remainder of the set as Saint Louis continued on to win 25-20 and avoid the sweep.
Alabama found itself behind early in the fourth set, as three Tide attack errors and a Saint Louis kill gave the visitors a 7-3 lead and forced an Alabama timeout. Another Tide attack error would give the Billikens a five-point advantage, their largest lead of the set, but Alabama began to find its rhythm in the middle of the frame and battled back to tie it at 16-16. Momentum quickly swung back in the visitors' favor however, as they rattled off three-straight points to pull back ahead, 19-16, and force Alabama into its final timeout. The Billikens would hold the lead past the 20-point mark, eventually taking the set 25-21 to even the match at 2-2 and force a fifth set.
Bolstered by a raucous Foster Auditorium crowd, Alabama came out strongly to open the deciding final set, pulling ahead 4-1 before Saint Louis eventually came back to tie it at 7-7. A kill by Lawrence gave Alabama the slim advantage at the mid-set switch, but a 4-1 run by Saint Louis gave the visitors an 11-9 lead as the Tide took its first timeout. A kill by Hutson, an ace by Lawrence and a Saint Louis attack error put momentum back in Alabama's favor as Saint Louis took a timeout with the Tide now leading 12-11. The back-and-forth nature of the set continued in the crucial closing points, as Saint Louis reached match point first, 14-13, and Alabama took a timeout to strategize. A kill by Thomas tied it back up at 14-14 and a kill by Brown two points later would tie it again at 15-15. Saint Louis reached match point for a third time, up 16-15, but Alabama was unable to rally this time as an attack error ended it with Saint Louis winning, 17-15, to complete the comeback victory over the Tide.
Alabama concludes its weekend at the Crimson White Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 12 against Virginia at 7 p.m. CT in Foster Auditorium.
