Alabama
Southern Miss
Alabama Volleyball Falls in Pair of Five Set Losses Saturday
9/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama followed a similar script in both of its matches Saturday at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash, overcoming a 2-1 match deficit with wins in the fourth set against both Southern Miss and the College of Charleston but ultimately falling to both in the fifth set.
Alabama (2-5) was hampered by errors in both matches, hitting a combined .196 between both matches. Southern Miss (7-0) and the College of Charleston (3-4) combined to hit .231 against the Tide as both teams benefitted from 35 unforced errors committed by the Tide, 15 on offense and 20 from the service line. Offensively, Kat Hutson led the Tide with 40 kills (4.00/set) between the two matches with Brittany Thomas second on the team in both kills (32) and digs (30), tallying double-doubles in both matches. Sierra Wilson finished the day with 117 assists, averaging 11.7 per set, while Natalie Murison finished with 45 digs (4.50/set) on defense.
MATCH ONE: SOUTHERN MISS 3, ALABAMA 2
Alabama opened play on Saturday at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash with its second five-set match of the weekend, falling to Southern Miss by a score of 3-2. Alabama saw its 1-0 match lead erased with losses in the second and third, but a victory in the fourth would force a winner-take-all fifth. A late surge by Southern Miss in the fifth set gave the visitors the final four-point edge. Alabama was led offensively by Hutson with 23 kills and a .328 hitting percentage. Thomas earned her second double-double of the weekend with 11 kills and 19 digs and Leah Lawrence led the defensive effort at the net with a team-leading five blocks. Defensively, Murison also tied a career high with 25 digs.
Alabama and Southern Miss were evenly matched in the first half of the opening set until, tied at 11-11, the Tide would score four unanswered points to take its largest lead of the set at 15-11. The Golden Eagles would briefly draw back within two, down 17-15, but Alabama added some distance with a 5-2 run as Southern Miss took its final timeout down 22-17. An ace by Lawrence and a kill by Bruna Evangelista gave Alabama set point, 24-19, and an attack error by Southern Miss ended it as Alabama won, 25-19.
Southern Miss jumped out quickly in the second set, leading 7-4, before Alabama would come back to tie it at 7-7. The Tide would tie the game up at 8, 9 and 11 points but would not take the lead for the remainder of the set. Trailing by four, 19-15, Alabama would draw back within one with a 5-2 run to make it 21-20, but Southern Miss would surge ahead late with a 4-2 run to close the set, 25-22, and even the match at 1-1.
Alabama's early 4-3 lead in the third set would be the last time the Tide were out in front in the frame, as Southern Miss quickly came back to pull ahead 5-4 and would not fall behind for the remainder of the set. The Tide briefly fought back to tie it at 11, 12 and 13 points, but Southern Miss would use a 7-2 run after the latter tie to hold a five-point lead at the 20-point mark, 20-15. The Tide would fight back to tie the set late at 23-23 and Southern Miss would reach set point twice before eventually ending on an Alabama attack error, 26-24, to take the 2-1 match advantage.
The fourth set was evenly matched throughout, though Alabama would hold the edge for the majority of the set after moving ahead 5-4 on an early kill by Lawrence. The largest lead early on would only be three points, with Alabama up 10-7, but that was erased as Southern Miss briefly took a 13-12 lead before the Tide answered back with three straight points off kills by Wilson, Tabitha Brown and Lawrence to make it 15-13 at the media timeout. Alabama would reach set point with a three-point lead, 24-21, and Southern Miss but up a strong fight with back-to-back points to draw within one and force Alabama to take a timeout leading 24-23. A block error by the visitors on the next play would end it as Alabama took the narrow two-point victory, 25-23, to even the match at 2-2.
Alabama battled back from a 6-3 deficit in the fifth set to take an 8-7 lead at the mid-set switch and added a ninth point on a kill by Thomas after the break. Alabama would hold onto the lead until Southern Miss tied it up at 10-10 and quickly went on a 4-1 run to give the visitors match point, 14-11, as Alabama took a timeout. The Tide could not capture the late momentum however, as a kill by Southern Miss ended the set, 15-11, and gave Alabama a 3-2 loss.
MATCH TWO: COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 3, ALABAMA 2
Alabama's final match on Saturday at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash against the College of Charleston played out nearly identically to its earlier loss that day, as the Crimson Tide won the fourth set to force a deciding fifth but ultimately fell to the Cougars, 3-2.
Alabama was hampered by 56 errors in the match, limiting the offense to a .221 clip, including 12 free points for the College of Charleston in the form of service errors. Emily Stebbins made the most of her starting opportunity, hitting a career-high .407 with 14 kills. Thomas led the team in kills with 21, adding 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the season and her third of the weekend. S earned her fourth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 19 digs while Wilson finished one assist shy of her season high, tallying 68 Saturday night.
College of Charleston held a slight edge in the early stages of set one until, tied at 13-13, Alabama started to pull away with a 5-2 run that included three kills by Hutson to make it 18-15. The Tide would double its lead at set point, 24-19, and another big kill by Hutson would seal it as Alabama won the opening frame, 25-19.
Tied at 4-4 in the second set, the Cougars would rattle off three unanswered points to take a 7-4 lead that held for the majority of the set. Leading by the same margin later, 14-11, a 6-3 run by the College of Charleston gave the visitors a six-point lead at the 20-point mark, 20-14. Alabama would manage to draw within two, down 21-19, but Charleston answered right back to earn set point, up 24-19. Alabama held them there for four points, drawing within one, but a block by the Cougars ultimately stopped the Tide's comeback effort just short as Alabama fell, 25-23, to even the match at 1-1.
Tied at 7-7 in set three, College of Charleston started to distance itself with a 5-1 run as Alabama took its first timeout trailing 12-8. The Tide started to narrow the gap in the middle portion of the set, capping a 7-5 run with a pair of kills by both Thomas and Stebbins as the deficit was now just two points, 17-15. The set remained within three points down the stretch, with the Cougars hitting set point first, 24-22. A kill by Stebbins drew the Tide within one but a service error immediately thereafter ended the set as the College of Charleston finished with the 25-23 victory and a 2-1 match advantage.
Alabama found itself down 4-1 early in the fourth set but quickly rebounded with a 9-4 run, capped by two kills and a block by Hutson to make it 10-8 as Charleston took a timeout. The Cougars would tie the set three times before briefly retaking the lead at 15-14, but the Tide responded with three straight points to pull back ahead 18-16 at Charleston's final timeout. Needing a win to stay alive in the match, Alabama had to fight against a tough Charleston squad down the stretch, taking both of its timeouts past the 20-point mark as the Cougars were up 23-22 out of that second break. A kill by Wilson tied it up at 23-23 and another by Hutson gave Alabama set point, 24-23. Charleston would tie it up at 24 and 25 points, but back-to-back kills by Brown would ultimately end the set as Alabama held on to win, 27-25, and yet again force a fifth set.
Charleston pushed out to an early 6-3 lead in the fifth set but Alabama fought back as both teams were neck-and-neck near the mid-set switch, tied at 7-7. A Charleston block gave them the one-point edge as the teams switched sides and the Cougars added two more points to pull ahead 10-7 as Alabama took a timeout. Alabama would regain possession for the final time trailing 13-9, as Charleston ended it with back-to-back kills to win, 15-9, and hand Alabama its second five-set loss of the day.
Next weekend, Alabama will host the Crimson-White Tournament, welcoming Troy, Saint Louis and Virginia to Foster Auditorium. Action begins on Friday, Sept. 11 at 11 a.m. CT against Troy before facing Saint Louis that night at 7 p.m. and Virginia the following night at 7 p.m.
