Alabama
15-8, 3-6SEC
South Carolina
10-10, 3-5SEC
Alabama Volleyball Rallies for Five-Set Win Sunday over South Carolina
10/22/2017 5:40:00 PM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama volleyball rallied from a 2-1 match deficit to defeat South Carolina in five sets Sunday afternoon at Foster Auditorium.
Alabama (15-8, 3-6 SEC) won the opening set, 25-19, but fell in the next two to South Carolina (10-10, 3-5 SEC) 18-25 and 23-25. Behind a raucous crowd in Foster Auditorium, the Crimson Tide evened the match with a 25-22 win in the fourth set and a 15-7 win in the fifth. The teams were nearly even statistically, but strong play from the service line made a big difference with Alabama earning seven service aces, more than twice South Carolina's total.
With the win, Alabama remains undefeated in five-set matches this season at 5-0. Sophomore Ginger Perinar led the team with 22 kills, a career-high and the most kills for any Tide player this season. Alabama had four players with double-digit digs, led by sophomore Mahalia Swink with a career-best 22. Freshman Meghan Neelon also was in double-digits with 15, adding 53 assists for her eighth double-double of the season.
Trailing 7-4 in set one, Alabama scored three-straight to tie it at 7-7 but could not take the lead. The score would be tied four more times before a kill by Cidavia Hall gave the Tide its first lead of the match, 15-14, at the media timeout. The Gamecocks eventually fought back to tie it at 17-17 but Alabama pulled back ahead with a 4-1 run to lead 21-18 as South Carolina took a timeout. The Tide closed out the set on a 4-1 run, winning it 25-19 on a service ace from senior Leah Lawrence.
South Carolina scored the first point of set two but Alabama quickly responded with four-straight points to lead 4-1. Momentum swung back the Gamecocks' way as they retook the lead at 7-6 and they remained in front before briefly falling behind 12-11. South Carolina led 15-13 at the media timeout and increased its lead to five at 20-15 as Alabama took a timeout. The Tide spent its second timeout soon thereafter, trailing 23-17, and eventually lost the frame 25-18 to even the match at 1-1.
The Gamecocks opened the third set with five unanswered points, forcing an early timeout from the Tide down 5-0. Alabama spent its second timeout trailing 9-1. Trailing 10-3, the Tide started to close the gap with four-straight points to make it a 10-7 game and South Carolina called its first timeout. The Tide continued to fight and keep the score close but the Gamecocks remained in front until the very closing points of the frame when Perinar tipped one over the net for a kill to tie it at 22-22 and South Carolina took its second timeout. Alabama pulled ahead 23-22 on a South Carolina attack error but the Gamecocks closed out the frame with three-straight points to win, 25-23, and take a 2-1 match lead over the Tide.
Alabama built an early 8-5 lead in set four before South Carolina took a timeout. Leading by two later, 12-10, the Tide added some cushion with a 6-1 run to lead 18-13 before the Gamecocks burned its second timeout. The Gamecocks made it a two-point game with a 6-2 run as the Tide took its first timeout now up 21-19. A kill by Swink made it set point, 24-21, and a South Carolina service error two points later sealed the 25-22 win for Alabama to force a deciding fifth set.
With a 6-4 lead in set five, a stunning defensive rally by the Tide kept the ball alive and allowed freshman Christine Jarman to come up with the kill and make it 7-4 as South Carolina took a timeout. Another kill from Jarman made it 8-4 as the teams switched sides and Alabama would score four more unanswered points, capped by a Swink service ace, to lead 11-4 as South Carolina took its second timeout. Later leading 13-7, back-to-back kills from Perinar completed the comeback victory as Alabama won set five, 15-7, and the match, 3-2.
Alabama plays just one match next week, making the quick trip to Starkville, Miss. to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs (9-15, 0-9 SEC) on Friday, Oct. 27 at 8 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.
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