Alabama
16-10, 4-8SEC
Georgia
17-9, 7-6SEC
Alabama Volleyball Falls to Georgia Sunday in Tuscaloosa
11/5/2017 2:23:00 PM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama volleyball fell to Georgia in straight sets Sunday at Foster Auditorium by scores of 21-25, 23-25 and 15-25.
Alabama (16-10, 4-8 SEC) and Georgia (17-9, 7-6 SEC) battled neck-and-neck in a close first set that had 12 tie scores and three lead changes, but the Bulldogs ultimately won 25-21. The second set was another close contest, ending 25-23, before Georgia pulled away in the third and final set with a 10-point victory, 25-15. Sophomore Hayley McSparin was the Tide's lone player with double-digit kills, earning 10 with a .412 hitting percentage. Junior Quincey Gary led the defense with 19 digs, improving her season total to 449 which moves her to seventh in Alabama single-season history. Senior Leah Lawrence stuffed three blocks, putting her just eight away from the Alabama career record.
The opening set was tightly contested from the start, with eight tie scores before, trailing 13-11, Alabama scored four straight to take a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. Georgia took a timeout soon after with Alabama in front 18-15 but the Bulldogs eventually fought back to tie it at 19-19 and take the lead at 22-21 as the Tide took its first team timeout. Georgia scored three-straight after the break to win the set, 25-21.
Alabama would tie the score three times early in set two but would not take a lead until scoring three-straight points to lead 14-12 as the Bulldogs called a timeout. With the Tide up by three points, 16-13, Georgia stormed back with five unanswered to regain the lead at 18-16 which forced Alabama to take a timeout. The Tide took its second team timeout trailing by three, 23-20, and ultimately fell, 25-23.
Georgia got off to a hot start in set three, pulling ahead 7-2 before Alabama burned an early timeout. The Bulldogs extended its lead with a 9-5 run, leading 16-7 at the Tide's second team timeout. Georgia eventually moved ahead by double digits, 23-13, and won the set by the same margin, 25-15, to complete the sweep.
Next up, Alabama plays a pair of matches at Foster Auditorium, welcoming sixth-ranked Kentucky (19-3, 10-1 SEC) on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network before facing Tennessee (11-10, 4-8 SEC) on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 1 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.
