Alabama
12-16,4-13SEC
Georgia
20-9,12-6SEC
Alabama Volleyball Fights Late but Falls to Georgia Wednesday in Tuscaloosa
11/27/2019 7:39:00 PM | Volleyball
The Crimson Tide reached set point in the third but ultimately fell
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Trailing by two sets, Alabama made a late comeback and had set point in the third frame against Georgia, but the Bulldogs ultimately prevailed to earn the three-set victory over the Crimson Tide Wednesday at Foster Auditorium.
Alabama (12-16, 4-13 SEC) fell in the opening two sets to Georgia (20-9, 12-6 SEC) by scores of 25-21 and 25-17, respectively. The Tide took its first lead of the third set after a 4-0 run made it 10-9 and then used another four-point swing later to come back and tie it at 20-20. Down 23-21, Alabama scored three in a row to reach set point, 24-23, but the Bulldogs responded with three of their own to win, 26-24, and cap the sweep.
Freshman Alyiah Wells led the Tide with 10 kills, committing just three errors on 22 attacks for a .318 hitting percentage. Junior Doris Carter was two kills shy of a double-double, finishing with eight along with 10 digs. Junior Kaylee Thomas was also in double figures on defense, earning a team-leading 12 digs, and Wells led the front-row effort with five blocks.
FROM HEAD COACH LINDSEY DEVINE
"I'm proud of the fight. The hustle plays that we demonstrated were such momentum builders for our team. Those are the things that we want to celebrate. Even though the outcome wasn't what we wanted, we fought and persevered. For the most part we followed the game plan but Georgia's outsides are crafty and their setter is phenomenal so that makes it difficult. The fight and drive that our team demonstrated tonight is what we've been talking about regarding the direction for this program."
STAT LEADERS
- Kills – Alyiah Wells (10)
- Assists – Meghan Neelon (20)
- Blocks – Alyiah Wells (5)
- Digs – Kaylee Thomas (12)
SET-BY-SET
- Set One (Georgia 25, Alabama 21): Alabama jumped ahead to a 7-2 lead, forcing Georgia to take an early timeout. The Bulldogs fought back within two points until, at 10-8, the Tide rattled off three in a row to move ahead 13-8 and Georgia spent its final timeout. Three in a row from the Bulldogs after the break cut Alabama's lead back to two points, forcing a Tide timeout at 13-11. A four-point swing pushed Alabama's lead out to 17-11 but Georgia battled back within a point before the Tide was forced to take a timeout ahead 19-18. Back-to-back points gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the set, 20-19, and the visitors would hang on to win, 25-21.
- Set Two (Georgia 25, Alabama 17): Georgia built an early 5-1 lead and continued to widen the gap, leading 14-7 before Alabama spent its first timeout. A service ace eventually gave the Bulldogs a double-digit lead at 18-8 and the Tide took its second timeout. Later trailing 20-9, Alabama went on a 6-1 run before Georgia took its own timeout at 21-15. The Tide scored another after the break to draw within five but the Bulldogs closed it out with a 4-1 run to win, 25-17.
- Set Three (Georgia 26, Alabama 24): Trailing 7-3 early, Alabama fought back to take a 10-9 lead. After three tie scores, Georgia would score three unanswered to lead 15-12 at the media timeout. The Tide took its first team timeout trailing 20-16. Down 21-16 after the next point, Alabama challenged the previous call and it was successfully overturned to make it 20-17. Freshmen Emily Janek and Wells paired up for a block on the next rally to draw within two and the Bulldogs took their first timeout. Back-to-back points after that tied it at 20-20 and Georgia quickly burned its final timeout. The Bulldogs scored two unanswered and, after a Tide timeout, a 4-1 run from Alabama swung it in the home team's favor at set point, 24-23. A Georgia kill tied it at 24-24 and extended the match and two more kills gave the Bulldogs the narrow 26-24 victory to cap the sweep.
UP NEXT
Alabama concludes the regular season at Foster Auditorium on Saturday, Nov. 30 hosting Auburn (6-22, 0-17 SEC) at 12 p.m. CT
For the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaVball on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Volleyball on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
