Alabama
1-0
Western Kentucky
0-1
Alabama Volleyball Sweeps Western Kentucky Friday in Season Opener
8/24/2018 4:59:00 PM | Volleyball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Alabama started its 2018 season Friday with a sweep over Western Kentucky on day one of the Hampton Inn Charleston/West Ashley CofC Classic, winning by set scores of 25-23, 28-26 and 25-23.
Alabama (1-0) earned a trio of narrow set victories over a Western Kentucky (0-1) team that received votes in the AVCA preseason top-25 rankings. The sweep is the Crimson Tide's first in a season-opening match since 2012.
Junior Mahalia Swink led the team with a career-best 16 kills, hitting .353 from the right side along with 12 digs for a double-double. Sophomore transfer Doris Carter, making her Tide debut, was second on the team with 11 kills while junior Hayley McSparin was also in double digits with 10. Sophomore Meghan Neelon and freshman Mylana Byrd split time at setter, combining for 51 assists, while seniors Cidavia Hall and Quincey Gary led the team with seven blocks and 23 digs, respectively.
WKU scored the first point of the opening set, but three quick points from Alabama put the Tide ahead by two early. Later leading 9-8, Carter took a big swing and found the middle of the court for a kill before following that with a solo block to make it a three-point game. The Lady Toppers scored three unanswered to tie it at 11-11 but the Tide answered back with three of its own, capped by a Swink service ace. Back-to-back kills from Carter and McSparin later made it 16-12 and WKU called its first timeout. A 4-1 run from WKU after the break made it a one-point game but Alabama added some cushion with three-straight to hit the 20-point mark ahead by four. Another three-point swing by the Lady Toppers drew them within one again but Alabama reached set point with a four-point rally, 24-19. WKU kept the frame alive with four-straight points, forcing the Tide to burn both its timeouts in the process leading 24-23 at the second break. Carter ended it in the next rally with her fifth kill of the match to win the set, 25-23.
A kill from Hall went for the first point in set two before WKU responded with two points to take its first lead of the match. The lead was short-lived after a pair of blocking errors allowed the Tide to move back in front, 3-2. The Lady Toppers fought back to tie it at 8-8 and retake the lead at 10-9. The lead changed four times down the stretch, with WKU ahead by two at the 20-point mark. Alabama took a timeout trailing 23-21 and tied it after the break with a kill from Carter and block from McSparin and Ginger Perinar. The Lady Toppers reached set point on the next rally before Alabama took its second timeout and tied it at 24-24 on a kill from McSparin. WKU reached set point two more times but could not put the frame away and Alabama pushed back to a one-point lead, 27-26, before the Lady Toppers took a timeout. A block on the right side from Swink completed the comeback as Alabama took the set, 28-26, for a 2-0 match lead.
Alabama was hot to start the third set, scoring four unanswered points but WKU was not down for long, eventually taking a 6-5 lead. Trailing 8-6, Alabama scored four in a row to regain its lead at 10-8. The momentum swung back to the Lady Toppers with an 8-2 run before the Tide took a timeout trailing 16-12. Alabama came out firing after the break, scoring five unanswered to pull back ahead, 17-16, as WKU its own timeout. The Lady Toppers moved back in front until a cross-court kill from McSparin tied it late at 23-23. A block from Byrd and Hall made it match point and WKU spent its final timeout before another block from Byrd and Hall sealed the sweep as the Tide won the deciding third frame, 25-23.
Alabama concludes opening weekend with a pair of matches tomorrow, facing Missouri State at 9 a.m. CT and College of Charleston at 6 p.m. CT.
