Alabama
15-9, 4-7SEC
Kentucky
17-5, 10-1SEC
Alabama Volleyball Falls in Weekend Finale to No. 22 Kentucky
10/30/2016 4:12:00 PM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama volleyball dropped its weekend finale at home Sunday afternoon against No. 22 Kentucky, falling by set scores of 19-25, 15-25 and 17-25.
Alabama (15-9, 4-7 SEC) hung tough with 22nd-ranked Kentucky (17-5, 10-1 SEC) but ultimately the Wildcats used late surges in each set to complete the sweep, holding the Crimson Tide to a .071 team hitting percentage. Krystal Rivers finished the match with a team-leading 19 kills and was one dig shy of a double-double with nine. She is now just 96 kills away from tying the Alabama career record.
Kentucky swung ahead by four points early in the first set, 6-2, but Alabama fought back within one trailing 7-6 before the Wildcats rattled off three-straight points to regain its four-point lead, 10-6, as the Tide took a timeout. A 3-1 run out of the break made it a 13-7 game at the halfway point of set one as Alabama took its second timeout. The Tide scored four unanswered points out of the break to draw within two, 13-11, as the Wildcats took a timeout. Kentucky continued to extend its lead in the closing half of the set, eventually winning by six points, 25-19.
Alabama led early in set two, 5-4, but Kentucky quickly built a sizeable lead with nine unanswered points to pull ahead 13-5. The margin remained the same at the Tide's second timeout of the set, 15-7, and the Wildcats surged ahead to reach set point, 24-13. Alabama scored back-to-back points to keep the frame going but Kentucky eventually ended it with a kill to win by 10 points, 25-15, and lead the match 2-0.
Three-straight points helped Kentucky build a 10-5 lead in set three, forcing an early Alabama timeout. Trailing 12-6, Alabama put together a 6-1 run to draw within one point at the halfway mark as Kentucky took a timeout up 13-12. The Tide did pull ahead 14-13 after the break but the lead was short-lived as the Wildcats surged back ahead 17-14 and kept pushing following an Alabama timeout with an 8-3 run to win, 25-17, and complete the sweep.
Next up, Alabama hits the road to take on Texas A&M (13-7, 7-2 SEC) on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. CT before returning home to face Arkansas (4-18, 2-8 SEC) in Foster Auditorium on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. CT. Both matches will air live on the SEC Network.
For the latest information on Alabama volleyball, follow the team on Twitter (@AlabamaVball), Instagram (AlabamaVball) and Facebook.
