Alabama
12-3, 1-1SEC
Florida
12-1, 2-0SEC
Alabama Volleyball Falls in Three Sets to No. 6 Florida
9/25/2016 2:48:00 PM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama volleyball closed its eight-match home stand on Sunday at Foster Auditorium, falling in three sets to No. 6 Florida: 22-25, 14-25 and 19-25.Â
Alabama (12-3, 1-1 SEC) was led offensively by Krystal Rivers with 17 kills while Leah Lawrence finished with a season-high .500 hitting percentage, posting eight kills on 14 swings with just one error. Shannon Mikesky finished with 27 assists and 10 digs, her seventh double-double of the season and her second of the weekend. For Florida (12-1, 2-0 SEC), Alex Holston led the team with 14 kills while Rhamat Alhassan and Shainah Joseph each stuffed four blocks.
Alabama scored the first point of the opening set but Florida pulled away to an early 9-4 lead before the Tide took its first timeout. After the break, Alabama regrouped with an 8-4 run to draw within one point as a kill by Shannon Mikesky off an overpass made it 13-12 Florida with the Gators taking its first timeout. Alabama remained behind by one at 15-14 until Florida gathered some momentum with a 4-1 run to lead 19-15 at the Tide's second timeout. The Gators were looking to put things away, leading 23-17, but the Tide held strong scoring three-straight points, including a pair of kills by Krystal Rivers, to draw within three and force Florida to take a late timeout. Despite the late push, the Gators held on to narrowly win, 25-22.
The two teams were neck-and-neck early in the second set until, tied at 8-8, Florida began to pull away with an 8-2 run to lead 16-10 as Alabama took its first timeout. The Tide took its second timeout facing an eight-point deficit, 20-12, and the Gators eventually won the second set by double digits, 25-14, and took a 2-0 match lead into the locker room at intermission.
Alabama held the lead three times early in set three before Florida pulled back ahead 5-4 and remained in front for the remainder of the frame. The Gators held a 15-10 lead at the media timeout and led by the same margin at the Tide's first team timeout, 17-12. Two quick points for Florida made it 19-12 at Alabama's second timeout and the Gators would hold on to win the set, 25-19, and complete the sweep.
Next weekend, Alabama continues SEC play on the road, facing Georgia (12-2, 0-1 SEC) on Friday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. CT in Athens before heading west to Starkville to face Mississippi State (9-6, 1-0 SEC) on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 3 p.m. CT. Sunday's match against the Bulldogs will be live on the SEC Network.
For the latest information on Alabama volleyball, follow the team on Twitter (@AlabamaVball), Instagram (AlabamaVball) and Facebook.
