Alabama
14-7, 2-5SEC
LSU
15-4, 6-2SEC
Alabama Volleyball Drops Four-Set Decision Sunday at LSU
10/15/2017 3:46:00 PM | Volleyball
BATON ROUGE, La. – Alabama volleyball won the opening set Sunday at LSU but the Tigers rallied to win the next three sets and hand the Crimson Tide the 3-1 loss.
Alabama (14-7, 2-5 SEC) won the opening frame, 25-22, but dropped the next three to LSU (15-4, 6-2 SEC) by scores of 22-25, 25-27 and 24-26. The Tide had three players with double-digit kills, led by sophomore Ginger Perinar with 15. Perinar now has 12 or more kills in six of the team's seven SEC matches this season. Sophomore Mahalia Swink was second on the team with 12 kills, adding 12 digs for her first double-double. Freshman Meghan Neelon was one dig shy from her own double-double, finishing the match with 40 assists and nine digs.
Outside of three tie scores, Alabama held the lead for the entirety of the first half of the opening set, though its lead would not exceed two points. Up 11-10, the Tide scored four-straight points to lead 15-10 at the media timeout. Alabama continued the scoring streak after the break with a kill from freshman Christine Jarman and an ace from Swink before LSU called a timeout. A Tiger attack error extended the streak to seven-straight points before LSU scored a kill with Alabama now leading 18-11. Facing a seven-point deficit again later in the set, The Tigers took its second timeout trailing 21-14 but rallied after the break with a 5-1 run to draw within three points as Alabama took a timeout now leading 22-19. Up 23-20, Alabama challenged a no-touch call on an attack that was overturned to give the Tide set point, 24-20. The Tigers scored two points before senior Leah Lawrence secured the 25-22 win with a kill off an overpass.
LSU jumped ahead to an early 4-1 lead in set one but Alabama quickly moved back ahead with a 6-2 run to take a 7-6 lead. Later with the Tide leading 9-7, the Tigers scored four-straight to reclaim the lead and they remained in front until a service ace from Swink tied the frame at 14-14. An LSU kill gave the home team a one-point lead at the media timeout but Alabama soon moved back ahead, leading 19-17 as the Tigers took a timeout. LSU scored four-straight following the break to pull ahead 21-19 and Alabama had to take its own timeout. The Tide took its second timeout after the Tigers reached set point, 24-21, and LSU held on to win 25-22 to even the match at 1-1.
The Tigers held the early momentum in set three, leading 8-5 before the Tide fought back to tie it at 9-9. Alabama eventually moved ahead 12-11 on an LSU ball-handling error and increased the lead to 13-11 on a block from Swink and sophomore Hayley McSparin as the Tigers took a timeout. Alabama increased its lead to 17-13 and LSU took its second timeout but the Tigers soon fought back within one point, forcing the Tide to take a timeout now leading 18-17. Alabama took its second timeout trailing 22-20 but quickly rallied to tie set three at 23-23 but, despite reaching set point twice, the Tide would fall 27-25 as the Tigers took a 2-1 match lead.
LSU scored the first point in set four and built a 7-3 lead before Alabama surged back to tie the frame at 10-10. The Tigers held the slim 15-14 lead at the media timeout but a service ace soon after from Lawrence put the Tide in front, 17-16, and LSU took a timeout three points later with Alabama up 19-17. The Tigers tied the set at 20-20 and the Tide took its first timeout with its second timeout coming at match point, 24-23. LSU would hold on to win the set, 26-24, and the match, 3-1.
Next up, Alabama returns to Foster Auditorium for a pair of weekend matches. First, the Tide faces the Florida Gators (14-1, 6-1 SEC) on Friday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. CT in the annual Power of Pink match. On Sunday, Oct. 22, Alabama squares off against the South Carolina Gamecocks (9-9, 2-4 SEC) at 2 p.m. CT live on the SEC Network.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaVBall on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
