Alabama
18-13 (6-11SEC)
Missouri
20-10 (13-4SEC)
Alabama Volleyball Falls in Three Sets Wednesday at Missouri
11/22/2017 6:34:00 PM | Volleyball
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Alabama volleyball dropped its final road match of the 2017 season, falling to Missouri in three sets Wednesday night.
Alabama (18-13, 6-11 SEC) struggled on offense, committing 21 hitting errors and earning only 25 kills against Missouri (20-10, 13-4 SEC). At the service line, sophomore Mahalia Swink earned three of the team's service aces, marking a career best for the Bakersfield, Calif., native. Junior Quincey Gary led the back-row defense with 19 digs and sophomore Ginger Perinar led the offense with seven kills.
Alabama scored the first point in the opening set but Missouri quickly responded with six-straight points to lead 6-1 before the Tide looked to halt the momentum with an early timeout. A kill from sophomore Hayley McSparin in the first rally after the break snapped Missouri's scoring streak and spurred a 6-1 run from Alabama that tied it at 7-7. The Tigers answered right back with five-consecutive points to pull ahead 12-7 and the Tide called its second team timeout. Still a five-point game at 17-12, Missouri closed out the set with an 8-3 run to win, 25-15.
Tied at 3-3 in set two, Missouri was called out of rotation to give Alabama a 4-3 lead but the Tigers regained the lead with a 5-0 run and the Tide called a timeout now trailing 8-4. Alabama would fight back to tie it back up at 9-9 before a run of five straight from Missouri gave the home team a 14-9 lead. A 5-1 run from the Tide made it a one-point game but three quick points gave the Tigers back some cushion, leading 18-14 at Alabama's second timeout. After each team scored four points to make it 22-18, Missouri closed out the frame with three unanswered points to win, 25-18, and take a 2-0 match lead.
Missouri jumped ahead 6-2 to start set three and with a four-point margin later in the set, back-to-back points for the Tigers increased its lead to 11-5 before Alabama called its first timeout. Trailing 13-7, Alabama scored four unanswered to draw within two and Missouri called its first timeout. A kill from freshman Christine Jarman in the next rally drew the Tide within one but the Tigers pulled back ahead with three in a row to make it 16-12. Later trailing 21-16, Alabama scored consecutive points and Missouri called its first team timeout with its lead now trimmed to 21-18. The Tide called its last timeout trailing 23-18 and the Tigers would hang on to win set three, 25-20, and complete the sweep.
Alabama returns home Saturday, Nov. 25 for its final match of the regular season, facing Texas A&M (8-15, 5-11 SEC) at Noon CT in Foster Auditorium.
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