Alabama
Ole Miss
Alabama Drops 3-1 Decision to Ole Miss Sunday in Oxford
11/18/2018 5:43:00 PM | Volleyball
OXFORD, Miss. – Alabama rallied from a set one loss to Ole Miss with a win in set two to even the match, but dropped the subsequent two frames to the Rebels to take the 3-1 loss Sunday in Oxford, Miss. The match ended with set scores of 18-15, 25-22, 16-25 and 15-25.
Alabama (19-11, 6-10 SEC) had three players with double-digit kills against Ole Miss (14-17, 4-13 SEC), led by juniors Ginger Perinar and Hayley McSparin with 12 each while sophomore Doris Carter was close behind with 11. Sophomore Meghan Neelon finished with 22 assists and 15 digs, tallying her eighth double-double of the season, her fifth in SEC play. Senior Quincey Gary led the back-row defense with 19 digs, putting her 57 away from second on the Crimson Tide's career digs list.
The Tide jumped ahead to an early 9-4 lead in the opening set before the Rebels responded with five straight to tie the score. The score would be tied four more times before Ole Miss took its first lead of the match, 15-14, at the media timeout. The Rebels remained in front for the remainder of the set, moving ahead 21-16 at the Tide's first team timeout and 23-18 at its second. Ole Miss closed out the set with a kill and a block to win, 25-18.
Trailing 3-1 in the second set, three-straight points put Alabama ahead 4-3 but momentum quickly swung back to Ole Miss with a 6-1 run putting them ahead 9-5. The Tide took a timeout three points later, trailing 11-6. Later down 13-8, Alabama scored five unanswered to tie it up at 13-13 before Ole Miss took a timeout. The second half of the set was a neck-and-neck affair, with nine tie scores before a service ace from junior Mahalia Swink made it 23-22 and the Rebels spent their last timeout. A triple block from freshman Mylana Byrd, sophomore Doris Carter and junior Hayley McSparin made it set point, 24-22, and a kill from Carter ended the frame to tie the match up at 1-1.
Set three was another close contest to start, with nine tie scores before the media timeout, with Ole Miss ahead 15-13. A 5-2 run put Ole Miss ahead 20-15 at Alabama's first team timeout and the Tide took its second timeout three points later, down 22-16. The Rebels would score three straight to close out the set, 25-16, and take a 2-1 match advantage.
Trailing 4-3 in the fourth, Ole Miss rallied with a 7-1 run to move ahead 10-5 before Alabama called a timeout. The Rebels continued to extend their lead, up by nine at the Tide's second timeout, 16-7. With Ole Miss ahead 21-9, Alabama scored four in a row to cut into the deficit and the Rebels called its first timeout with the score now 21-13. The Rebels would cap the frame with a 4-2 run to win the set, 25-15, and the match, 3-1.
Alabama wraps up the regular season with a pair of home matches next week, hosting Texas A&M Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. CT and Arkansas Friday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. CT.
