Alabama
11-2
Troy
5-9
Alabama Volleyball Sweeps Troy Saturday in Crimson-White Tournament Finale
9/16/2017 3:23:00 PM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama closed its weekend at the Crimson-White Tournament with a three-set sweep over Troy Saturday in Foster Auditorium, extending its current win streak to eight matches.
Alabama (11-2) played with plenty of energy right from the first whistle against Troy (5-9), defeating the Trojans by 10 and 11 points in the first two sets before battling against a late push in the third to win, 25-22. Senior Leah Lawrence and sophomores Hayley McSparin and Ginger Perinar led the team with eight kills each and all three hit above .380, leading to a season-best .303 team hitting percentage. The trio were named to the Crimson-White All-Tournament team, with McSparin earning MVP honors.
Tied at 4-4 in set one, Alabama scored four-straight points to take an 8-4 lead, including two kills and a block from Perinar. A 3-1 run by the Tide extended the lead to 11-5 before the Trojans took a timeout. Alabama fought to extend its lead to 18-9 and Troy took its second timeout but the Tide kept rolling for the remainder of the frame, eventually winning 25-15 on a service ace by Lawrence.
Troy scored the first point of set two but traded possession back to Alabama immediately with a service error to even it back at 1-1. The Tide's momentum from set one carried over into the second, with Alabama moving ahead 10-5 before Troy was forced to call a timeout. A 4-2 run after the break extended the lead to seven points and the Tide held that margin until back-to-back points up 18-11 made it 20-11 which forced the Trojans to burn its final timeout. The set would be another decisive victory for Alabama, eventually winning 25-14.
Alabama opened the third set on a 4-1 run and maintained the slim lead through the first half, eventually moving up by four at the media timeout, 15-11, after a Troy service error. Later leading 18-11, Troy cut into the deficit with 6-1 run to make it 19-17. Later with a two-point lead, 22-20, back-to-back kills by McSparin made it match point, 24-20, and Troy scored two points to keep the set alive before an attack error ended it in the Tide's favor, 25-22, to complete the sweep.
Next weekend, Alabama opens SEC play with a pair of road matches, facing Georgia (10-3) on Friday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. CT and Ole Miss (8-4) on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 1:30 p.m. CT. Friday's match against the Bulldogs will air live on SEC Network.
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.
