Alabama
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Mississippi State
Comeback Bid Falls Short as Alabama Volleyball Falls in Five Sets at MSU
10/2/2016 6:35:00 PM | Volleyball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Alabama volleyball came back from an 0-2 match deficit to force a fifth set on the road Sunday at Mississippi State, but the comeback bid fell short as the Bulldogs held on to win, 3-2.
Alabama (13-4, 2-2 SEC) was held to a season-low .145 hitting percentage, falling in the opening two sets to Mississippi State (11-7, 3-1 SEC) by scores of 15-25 and 21-25 before rallying to win the third and fourth at 25-22 and 25-18, respectively. Alabama held an early 6-3 lead in the fifth but MSU quickly regained the lead and held on to win the set, 15-12, and erase the Tide's comeback bid. The loss snaps a five-match winning streak against Mississippi State.
Individually, Krystal Rivers led the Tide offense with 26 kills and Leah Lawrence tied a career high with nine blocks. Hayley McSparin hit .345 with 13 kills and Brittany Thomas had a team-leading 19 digs.
Mississippi State pushed ahead to an early 5-1 lead in the opening set, forcing an early timeout by Alabama and the Tide had to take its second break shortly thereafter trailing 12-4. Alabama would eventually fight back to cut the deficit in half, trailing 15-11, but Mississippi State would quickly regain the momentum and move on to win the set, 25-15.
The Bulldogs' momentum carried into the second set, guiding the home team to an 11-4 lead after scoring three-straight points as the Tide took its first timeout. Mississippi State kept its foot on the pedal, moving ahead 19-12 at Alabama's second timeout and reaching set point at 24-18. The Tide wouldn't go down easily however, scoring three-straight points to make it 24-21 when the Bulldogs aimed to slow the momentum with a late timeout. A kill on the right side after the break for MSU would end the set at 25-21 and give the Bulldogs a 2-0 match lead at intermission.
Alabama came out of the locker room with renewed energy in the third set, overcoming an early 3-1 deficit with a 10-3 run to lead 11-6 as Mississippi State took a timeout. The Bulldogs would hang close but the Tide remained in front, with a kill by Rivers making it 17-11 as MSU took its second timeout. With Alabama up, 23-15, Mississippi State scored four-straight points to cut the deficit in half and force a Tide timeout. The Bulldogs would draw as close as two points but a kill by Rivers ultimately ended it with the Tide on top, 25-22.
Despite two tie scores early, the Tide would not trail for the entirety of a very close fourth set. Mississippi State took its first timeout trailing 14-11 and would come back to tie it at 14-14 but could not take the lead, eventually taking its second timeout trailing Alabama 21-17. The Bulldogs would score one point immediately after the break but that would be it for the remainder of the set as the Tide scored four-straight to win it 25-18, capped by a service ace by Lawrence.
Alabama started the deciding fifth set on a 3-0 run before Mississippi State answered back with three of its own to tie it at 3-3. Another three-point swing in the Tide's favor made it 6-3 but the Bulldogs would regain the lead, 8-7, at the halfway point of the set. A kill by Rivers soon after tied the set at 9-9 and an MSU attack error allowed Alabama to regain the lead, 10-9, but it proved short-lived as the Bulldogs swung back in front 12-10 as the Tide took a timeout. Alabama took its second timeout after Mississippi State hit set point, 14-12, and a kill in the next rally gave the Bulldogs the 15-12 set victory.
Next weekend, Alabama resumes SEC play on the road against Auburn (8-9, 2-2 SEC) on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1:30 p.m. CT.
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