Alabama
16-8 (4-6SEC)
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Mississippi State
9-16 (0-10SEC)
Alabama Volleyball Sweeps Mississippi State Friday in Starkville
10/27/2017 10:04:00 PM | Volleyball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Alabama volleyball needed just three sets to earn a win on the road Friday night against Mississippi State, sweeping the Bulldogs with set scores of 25-21, 25-18 and 25-21.
Alabama (16-8, 4-6 SEC) hit .253 as a team while holding Mississippi State (9-16, 0-10 SEC) to a .118 clip. Sophomore Ginger Perinar led the team with 16 kills, the highest total for a Crimson Tide player in a three-set match this season. Senior Leah Lawrence posted five blocks up front, increasing her career total to 246 which moves her to second all-time in the Alabama record books. Junior Quincey Gary led the defense with 17 digs, putting her 10 away from cracking the single-season top 10 at Alabama.
Tied at 4-4 early in set one, Mississippi State scored five-straight to pull ahead 9-4 and Alabama took its first timeout. The Tide quickly fought back within one, trailing 10-9 when the Bulldogs called its first timeout. MSU scored a point after the break but Alabama moved in front 14-11 with five unanswered points, capped with a service ace from Lawrence. The Bulldogs took its second timeout trailing 18-13 and a kill later from Perinar gave the Tide set point, 24-19. MSU scored two points to extend the frame but a kill down the line from sophomore Hayley McSparin ended it to give Alabama the 25-21 win.
Trailing 5-4 in set two, Alabama regained the lead and added some distance with a 7-2 run to pull ahead 11-7. The Tide led by three at the media timeout, 15-12, and increased its lead to five before the Bulldogs took its first timeout at 18-13. Later leading 19-16, the Tide rattled off four-straight points to make it a 23-16 game and MSU spent its final timeout. Alabama would hold on to win, 25-18, and take a 2-0 match lead.
The teams battled back and forth to begin set three, with nine tie scores before Alabama managed to build a slim 15-13 lead at the media timeout. The Tide held on to its lead, up 18-16 at the Bulldogs' first team timeout, before MSU managed to claw back and tie it at 19-19 but the Tide scored three-straight to pull back ahead, 22-19, as the Bulldogs called its second timeout. Alabama ultimately won the set, 25-21, to complete the sweep.
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, Alabama travels to face in-state rival Auburn (11-8, 4-6 SEC) at 7 p.m. CT before returning home to play Georgia (15-8, 5-5 SEC) on Sunday, Nov. 5 at Noon. Both matches will be 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.
