Alabama
12-6, 1-4
Kentucky
13-2, 4-0
Alabama Volleyball Falls to No. 10 Kentucky in Four Sets Friday
10/6/2017 8:45:00 PM | Volleyball
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After dropping the opening set, 15-25, Alabama volleyball rebounded with a 25-23 victory in set two against No. 10 Kentucky to even the match at 1-1, but the Wildcats eventually won sets three and four by scores of 25-21 and 25-20, respectively, to hand the Tide the four-set loss.
Alabama (12-6, 1-4 SEC) hit .400 as a team in the second set against 10th-ranked Kentucky (13-2, 4-0 SEC), winning 25-23, but struggled offensively in the rest of the match with a combined .113 hitting percentage in the remaining three sets. Sophomore Ginger Perinar led the offense with a season-high 14 kills while freshmen Christine Jarman and Meghan Neelon each earned their fifth double-double of the season. Jarman finished the match with 11 kills and 10 digs while Neelon posted 40 assists and 10 digs.
Kentucky opened the first set with four unanswered points, forcing Alabama to burn an early timeout down 4-0. The Tide spent its second timeout shortly thereafter with the Wildcats doubling its lead to eight points at 10-2. Kentucky eventually pulled ahead by double digits, 14-4, and the Wildcats would hit set point with the same margin, 24-14. Alabama would score a point on a kill from Leah Lawrence in the next rally but Kentucky secured the frame the following point, winning 25-15.
Trailing 4-1 early in set two, Alabama strung together three-straight points to tie the score, doing so three more times before the Tide took its first lead of the match, 8-7, on a Wildcat blocking error. Alabama held its slim lead past the halfway mark, pulling ahead 14-11 on a solo block from Hayley McSparin as Kentucky took its first timeout. The Wildcats second timeout came in the closing stages of the set after a kill from Lawrence pushed the Tide ahead 23-19. Back-to-back points from Kentucky after the break forced Alabama to take its first timeout. The Tide reached set point, 24-21, but the Wildcats stayed alive with consecutive points to cut the lead to 24-23 and force Alabama to burn its second timeout. A Wildcat blocking error on the next point gave the Tide the 25-23 win to even the match at 1-1.
Tied for a fifth time early in set three at 5-5, Kentucky scored five-straight points to take a 10-5 lead and Alabama took its first timeout. Leading by five points again later, 14-9, a Wildcat kill off an overpass increased its lead to six and the Tide took its second timeout now trailing 15-9. Kentucky remained in front by six, 22-16, before Alabama scored three-straight points to cut the lead in half and the Wildcats took its first timeout of the frame. Kentucky would hold on and eventually win set three, 25-21, to take a 2- 1 match lead.
Tied at 2-2 in set four following an overturned call on an Alabama challenge, Kentucky used a 7-1 run to pull ahead 9-3 and the Tide called its first timeout. The Tide called its second timeout trailing 12-4 but cut the deficit to five points with a 4-1 run following the break. A block by McSparin and Mahalia Swink later trimmed the deficit to four points, 17-13, and Kentucky called its first timeout. The Wildcats reached set point, 24-17, and the Tide refused to go down quietly with three-straight points before Kentucky scored a kill to win the set, 25-20, and earn the 3-1 match victory.
The Tide concludes its weekend facing Tennessee (8-6, 1-4 SEC) in Knoxville on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 12:30 p.m. CT.
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.
