Alabama
2-1
Incarnate Word
0-3
Alabama Volleyball Closes Weekend With Four-Set Win Over Incarnate Word
8/27/2016 1:13:00 PM | Volleyball
TULSA, Okla. – Alabama volleyball closed its weekend at the Hurricane Classic with a four-set win over Incarnate Word, finishing the weekend with a 2-1 record.
Alabama (2-1) won the first two sets before Incarnate Word (0-3) avoided the sweep with a win in the third but the Tide bounced back with a 25-20 win in the fourth. For the third-straight match, Krystal Rivers led the team in kills with 18, while Brittany Thomas and Kat Hutson finished in double figures as well with 14 and 12, respectively. Shannon Mikesky paced the offense with 37 assists and finished one dig shy of earning her third double-double.
The Crimson Tide held the momentum early in set one, pulling ahead 9-3 on a Rivers service ace before Incarnate Word called its first timeout. Alabama continued to widen the gap, leading 13-6 at the halfway point following a kill by Hutson and 19-11 following an Incarnate Word attack error as the Cardinal took its final timeout. Incarnate Word would only score three more points in the remainder of the set with Alabama charging ahead to win, 25-14.
Incarnate Word rattled off three unanswered points to start set two but Alabama quickly rallied to take a 5-4 lead on a Leah Lawrence service ace. The Cardinal retook the lead at 8-7 and pulled ahead by three after a 4-2 run as the Tide took a timeout trailing 12-9. Alabama immediately answered back with four-straight points out of the break to take a 14-12 lead and would remain in front until Incarnate Word fought back to tie the set late at 22-22. Despite the late push, Alabama would hold on and claim the 25-23 victory to take a 2-0 match lead.
The Cardinal held the early momentum in set three, leading 7-2 which forced the Tide to burn an early timeout. Alabama chipped away at the lead, drawing within two before Incarnate Word took a timeout leading 10-8. A 7-3 run by the Cardinal stretched their lead to 17-11 and, after an Alabama timeout, Incarnate Word would close it out with an 8-6 run to win, 25-17, and force a fourth set.
After Incarnate Word scored the first point of set four, Alabama would respond with six unanswered points, including back-to-back aces by Quincey Gary, to lead 6-1 at Incarnate Word's first timeout. Alabama maintained the five-point lead at the halfway point, 13-8, and then scored six consecutive points to pull ahead by double-digits, 19-8. The Tide would eventually reach match point, 24-13, but the Cardinal would not go down easily, rattling off seven-straight points to make it 24-20 but a kill by Hutson ultimately ended it as Alabama won, 25-20, to take the 3-1 match victory.
Next up, Alabama returns to Tuscaloosa for its 2016 home opener facing Samford in Foster Auditorium on Tuesday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. CT. Tickets are available for purchase at rolltide.com or by calling the ticket office at (205) 348-BAMA.
For the latest information on Alabama volleyball, follow the team on Twitter (@AlabamaVball), Instagram (AlabamaVball) and Facebook.
