Alabama
10-0
Samford
4-7
No. 25 Alabama Battles to Five-Set Win Over Samford Tuesday
9/11/2018 10:12:00 PM | Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala- Alabama volleyball battled to a hard-fought win in five sets over Samford Tuesday night, posting set scores of 18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19 and 15-10.
The 25th-ranked Crimson Tide (10-0) had five players post double-digit digs against the Bulldogs (4-7), led by a career-high 22 from sophomore Meghan Neelon. She also paced the offense with 29 assists for her third double-double of the season. Sophomore Doris Carter and junior Mahalia Swink also secured double-doubles, with Carter tallying 13 kills and 13 digs while Swink posted 13 kills and 14 digs.
Samford scored the first point of the opening set and carried the early momentum, pulling ahead 13-9 before Alabama called a timeout. The Bulldogs extended its lead to six before the Tide burned its second timeout, now trailing 17-11. Samford kept fighting and reached set point with a double-digit lead, 24-14, but Alabama scored four-straight to keep the set alive and the Bulldogs eventually called a timeout at 24-18. Samford secured the set on the next rally after the break, winning 25-18.
Samford scored the first two points of the second set and remained ahead until a service ace from Carter tied it at 7-7. After four more tie scores, Alabama would score back-to-back to lead 15-13 at the media timeout. Samford took its first team timeout five points later, trailing 18-15, and then its second in the closing stages of the frame, down 23-20. A service ace from Neelon made it set point, 24-20, and the Tide won it two points later, 25-21, to even the match at 1-1.
Set three was a back-and-forth affair to start, with six tie scores before the 10-point mark. The teams were again knotted up at the halfway mark, 13-13, before a Bulldog attack error and a block from junior Hayley McSparin and freshman Mylana Byrd made it 15-13 Alabama at the media timeout. Samford burned a team timeout trailing 17-15 and then its second down 20-16 before storming back with four-straight to tie it at 20-20 as Alabama was forced to take its own timeout. Samford took a late lead, 23-22, and after a Tide timeout the Bulldogs would hold its two-point advantage to win, 25-23, and take a 2-1 lead.
Alabama scored five unanswered points to open the fourth set but Samford quickly fought back to make it a one-point game, 8-7. The score swung back in the Tide's favor, leading 15-11 at the media timeout. A solo block from McSparin three points later made it 17-12 and Samford called its first team timeout. The Tide held the same lead at the Bulldogs' second timeout, 21-16, and closed out the frame to win, 25-19, and force a deciding fifth set.
The fifth set saw five lead changes before the mid-set switch, with Samford holding a slim 8-7 lead at the halfway mark. A big block from McSparin and Carter tied it up at 8-8 and Alabama took a 11-9 lead before Samford called a timeout. Leading 12-10, kills from junior Ginger Perinar and Swink brought the Tide to set point, and Swink closed it out with a kill to win the set, 15-10, and the match, 3-2.
This weekend, Alabama hosts the Crimson-White Tournament, beginning Friday, Sept. 14 with matches against South Alabama at 10 a.m. CT and No. 15 Purdue at 7 p.m. CT. Tournament action concludes Saturday, Sept. 15 against Southern Miss at 2 p.m. CT.
