Alabama
18-14, 6-12SEC
Texas A&M
10-15, 7-11SEC
Alabama Volleyball Falls in Regular Season Finale to Texas A&M
11/25/2017 2:29:00 PM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama volleyball concluded its regular season Saturday in Tuscaloosa, falling in three sets to Texas A&M in Foster Auditorium.
Alabama (18-14, 6-12 SEC) fell in straight sets to Texas A&M (10-15, 7-11 SEC) by scores of 23-25, 11-25 and 15-25. The Crimson Tide honored its five seniors pregame, as Jennifer Casillas, Brooke Feld, Leah Lawrence, Natalie Murison and Abolanle Onipede each started the match as well.
Lawrence and Murison each end their careers with 129 matches played, which ranks third in UA history, and Murison is the program's all-time leader with 503 sets played. Murison also finishes her career with 1,501 digs, which ranks second in UA history, and her average of 2.98 digs per set ranks eighth. Lawrence's career blocks record now stands at 449 and she also finishes third in solo blocks (91) and second in block assists (358).
Sophomore Mahalia Swink led the offense with 10 kills while junior Quincey Gary led the defense with 13 digs. Head coach Ed Allen was not present for the match, as he is recovering from an illness.
Alabama fell behind early in set one, trailing 8-2 before burning its first team timeout. Facing an eight-point deficit, 15-7, the Tide cut into the Aggies' lead with a 6-1 run before Texas A&M took a timeout now leading 16-13 after a service ace from freshman Meghan Neelon. Alabama would fight within one point twice before tying it at 21-21 on a Texas A&M attack error and the Aggies spent its final timeout. With the score tied again at 22-22, back-to-back points for Texas A&M gave the visitors set point and Alabama took its final timeout. A kill from sophomore Ginger Perinar gave the Tide possession and made it a one-point game but Texas A&M earned a kill on the next rally to win the frame, 25-23.
Texas A&M jumped ahead to an early 10-3 lead in set two, forcing Alabama to take an early timeout. The Aggies extended its lead after the break with five-straight points to move ahead 15-3 and the Tide quickly burned its second timeout. The Aggies were firmly in control for the remainder of the set, eventually winning 25-11 to take a 2-0 match lead.
Alabama scored the opening point of set three, marking its first lead of the match, but Texas A&M quickly jumped back in front and remained ahead until the Tide took its first timeout, trailing 14-9. The Aggies led 21-13 at Alabama's second timeout and eventually won the frame by double digits, 25-15, to complete the sweep.
The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship bracket will be revealed live on ESPNU Sunday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. CT. The field of 64 will begin first-round competition the following weekend.
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.
