Alabama
16-9, 4-7
Auburn
13-8, 6-6
Alabama Volleyball Comeback Falls Short in Five Sets at Auburn
11/1/2017 9:51:00 PM | Volleyball
AUBURN, Ala. – After falling in the opening two sets, Alabama volleyball rallied with wins in the third and fourth but the comeback effort fell just short in the fifth as the Crimson Tide fell to the Tigers, 3-2.
Alabama (16-9, 4-7 SEC) dropped the opening two sets to Auburn (13-8, 6-6 SEC) by scores of 21-25 and 14-25 before earning a 25-20 win in the third and 25-23 win in the fourth to force a deciding fifth set. The Tide led at the halfway mark but a late surge by the Tigers gave the home team an 11-15 win, handing Alabama its first five-set loss of the season.
Sophomore Mahalia Swink led the offense with a career-best 16 kills while fellow sophomore Ginger Perinar trailed close behind with 14. Perinar now has 12 or more kills in 10 SEC matches this season, becoming the 10th Tide player under head coach Ed Allen to do so. Freshman Meghan Neelon posted her ninth double-double of the season, finishing with 45 assists and 14 digs. Junior Quincey Gary led the back row with 19 digs, pushing her season total to 430 which ranks eighth in single-season UA history.
Auburn scored the first two points in set one before Alabama responded with four straight to take a 4-2 lead. Later with the Tide in front 10-7, the Tigers clawed back with a 5-1 run to retake the lead at 12-11. After tying the game three times, Alabama would retake the lead on a service ace from Gary to make it 15-14 at the media timeout. Tied at 16-16, Auburn rattled off three-straight points before the Tide took a timeout now trailing 19-16. The Tigers continued to expand its lead, moving ahead 22-17 as Alabama took its second timeout. The Tide cut into the deficit with a 4-1 run, making it a two-point game as Auburn called a timeout up 23-21. The Tigers would score back-to-back points after the break to win set one, 25-21.
Set two was a close affair early with seven tie scores before Auburn scored four unanswered points to pull in front 12-8 as Alabama took a timeout. The Tide scored a point after the break to draw within two but the Tigers answered back with four straight to make it 16-9 and Alabama took its second timeout. A service ace later gave Auburn a double-digit lead, 20-10, and would hold on to win 25-14.
Much like set two, the third set was neck-and-neck to start with six tie scores before a kill from Perinar tied it for a seventh time at 8-8. Alabama continued its run with three more unanswered points, leading 11-8 as Auburn called a timeout. The Tide ultimately stretched its scoring run to eight straight before the Tigers scored a point, making it 15-9. Auburn took its second timeout down 17-10 following a service ace from Perinar but fought back to make it a four-point game as Alabama took its first timeout leading 22-18. The Tide held on to its lead to close out the set, winning 25-20 as the teams went to a fourth frame.
Auburn scored the first three points in set four and maintained a slim lead until Alabama scored six-straight points to move in front 11-8. The Tigers quickly tied the score back up at 11-11 and later retook the lead at 13-12. Trailing by one at the media timeout, Alabama answered back with four unanswered points following the break to lead 18-15 before the Tigers took its first team timeout. Auburn would again fight back to tie it at 19-19 and eventually move ahead 21-20 as Alabama took a timeout. The Tide would reach set point, 24-23, and the Tigers called a timeout but a kill from Swink would close it out the next point as Alabama won, 25-23, to send it to a fifth set.
The Tigers scored three quick points to start the fifth set but the Tide answered right back with three in a row to tie it at 3-3. Auburn pulled back ahead, 5-3, but Alabama quickly rallied and led 8-6 at the halfway mark of the frame as the teams switched sides on the court. Later with the Tide in front 10-8, the Tigers regained the momentum with a 5-1 run to move in front 13-11 as Alabama called a timeout. Auburn scored back-to-back points after the timeout to close out the set, 15-11, and win the match.
Next up, Alabama returns home to play Georgia (15-8, 5-5 SEC) on Sunday, Nov. 5 at Noon CT live on the SEC Network.
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