Alabama
1
Cleveland State
0-1
Alabama Volleyball Goes 2-0 on Opening Day at the Mortar Board Premier
8/25/2017 6:24:00 PM | Volleyball
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Alabama volleyball opened its 2017 season with two matches Friday at the Mortar Board Premier, rallying for a five-set victory over Cleveland State before sweeping Oral Roberts.
With the two wins, Alabama is 2-0 to start the season for the first time since 2014. Friday's opening match saw Alabama overcome an early 0-2 match deficit to Cleveland State, rallying to win three-straight sets and win the match, 3-2. In the second match, the Crimson Tide only trailed Oral Roberts twice the entire match, hitting .303 as a team to earn the three-set sweep.
Between the two matches, sophomore Hayley McSparin led the team with 31 kills, hitting .407 with just seven errors on 59 swings. Freshman Christine Jarman earned 25 kills between her first two collegiate starts and senior Leah Lawrence was strong up the middle, hitting .531 with 19 kills and a team-leading nine blocks. Freshman Meghan Neelon paced the offense with 79 assists and, along with sophomore Quincey Gary and freshman Kaylee Thomas, earned a team-leading 23 digs each on the day.
MATCH ONE: ALABAMA 3, CLEVELAND STATE 2
Facing an early 0-2 match deficit in Alabama's season opener against Cleveland State, the Tide rallied to win the remaining three frames to claim the five-set victory. The win is Alabama's first five-set victory after a 0-2 match deficit since Aug. 29, 2015 at Cal State Fullerton. McSparin led the Tide's offense with a .462 hitting percentage and a career-best 22 kills. Neelon earned a double-double in her collegiate debut with 47 assists and 19 digs.
Alabama scored the first two points of the opening set on a kill by McSparin and an ace by Neelon and held the lead until Cleveland State took its first lead at 8-7. Alabama quickly retook the lead and back-to-back kills by Ginger Perinar and Abolanle Onipede made it a two-point game at the halfway point, 13-11. Cleveland State began to pull away in the late stages of the frame, with Alabama taking its first timeout trailing 19-17 and its second soon thereafter trailing 22-19. The Vikings would eventually hold on to win the first set, 25-20.
An early 4-3 lead by Alabama quickly switched to a three-point lead for Cleveland State after the Vikings scored four-straight points, forcing the Tide to burn its first timeout early, down 7-4. Trailing by three points later, 11-8, the Tide scored three-straight points to tie the set at 11-11 and force the Vikings to take its first timeout. Cleveland State quickly regained its lead and maintained it to the 20-point mark, leading 20-16 as Alabama took its second timeout. Trailing 23-18, a pair of kills by Jarman and a ball-handling error by Cleveland State cut the deficit to two points, with the Vikings taking a timeout up 23-21. Cleveland State rallied to score twice and take the second set, 25-21, for a 2-0 match lead.
The score was tied nine times in the first half of set three, but Alabama didn't gain the lead until a solo block by Lawrence made it 13-12. Three-straight points by the Tide later in the set made it 16-13 and the Vikings looked to regroup with a timeout. A kill by McSparin later made it a four-point game, 20-16, but Cleveland State continued to edge closer, eventually pulling within one point to force the Tide to take a timeout leading 22-21. A kill by Jarman later gave the Tide set point, 24-22, but Cleveland State fought back to take a 25-24 lead as Alabama took a timeout. The Vikings had match point two more times down the stretch but the Tide rallied each time, eventually winning the set 28-26 on a block by McSparin and Mahalia Swink.
Alabama found a good rhythm to begin the fourth set, tallying nine kills with no errors and a pair of blocks to lead 13-8 at the halfway mark as Cleveland State took a timeout. The teams traded points evenly until a kill by Onipede extended the lead to six points, 18-12, forcing a second timeout by the Vikings. Alabama eventually extended the lead to 21-12 but a 5-1 run by Cleveland State cut it to 22-17 as the Tide took a timeout. A kill by Lawrence gave the Tide set point, 24-18, and she followed up with a service ace to win the fourth frame and force a deciding fifth set.
Three-straight points by Alabama made it 4-1 early in set five and Cleveland State took its first timeout. A Viking attack error gave the Tide an 8-4 lead as the teams switched sides and two more points by Alabama extended the lead to 10-4 with Cleveland State spending its final timeout. The Tide ended the set on a 5-3 run with a kill by Jarman capping the 15-7 set win to earn the five-set victory.
MATCH TWO: ALABAMA 3, ORAL ROBERTS 0
Alabama needed just three sets to dispatch Oral Roberts in Friday's second match, a 3-0 sweep for the Crimson Tide. Alabama hit .303 as a team, led by an error-free performance by Lawrence in which she posted 10 kills on 14 swings, good for a .714 attack percentage.
Alabama scored the first point of the opening set and slowly extended its lead, including a 4-0 run capped by consecutive Lawrence service aces to make the score 10-4. Jarman and McSparin teamed up for a block on the outside to give the Tide a 13-5 lead at the halfway mark as Oral Roberts took a timeout. Alabama reached set point with a six-point lead, 24-18, but the Golden Eagles cut the lead in half with three-straight points and the Tide was forced to take a timeout leading 24-21. An Oral Roberts service error after the break gave the Tide the 25-21 set victory.
Leading 3-2 early in set two, Alabama widened the gap with seven-straight points to make it 10-2. It remained an eight-point game at the 20-point mark, 20-12, and back-to-back kills by Swink gave the Tide a double-digit lead, 22-12. After an Oral Roberts kill, consecutive errors by the Golden Eagles gave the Tide set point, 24-13, and a kill by Jarman ended the frame at 25-13.
Tied 4-4 in set three, the Tide scored five-straight points to make it 9-4 and Oral Roberts took its first timeout facing the same deficit later, 12-7. The Golden Eagles would draw within one point but could not tie the set, trailing by two at its final timeout, 20-18. Alabama held on to win the set, 25-22, and complete the sweep to cap day one of the season.
Alabama concludes its weekend at the Mortar Board Preimer tomorrow, facing 25th-ranked Purdue at 2 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 AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
