Alabama
3-0
Marist
0-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marist | 20 | 19 | 17 | 0 |
| Alabama | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Alabama Volleyball Sweeps Marist in Season Opener
8/30/2019 11:12:00 AM | Volleyball
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Alabama started its 2019 season off on a strong note, sweeping Marist in the opening match of the UB Invite Friday morning.
Alabama (1-0) won each set by an increasing margin over Marist (0-1) by scores of 25-20, 25-19 and 25-17 respectively. Nine service aces from the Crimson Tide kept the Red Foxes off balance, and strong defense in the form of nine team blocks and a 35-24 advantage in digs stifled the Marist offense. Senior Ginger Perinar led the attack with nine kills, hitting .333, with freshman Alyiah Wells posting a .375 clip along with a team-leading five blocks. Junior Meghan Neelon tallied 32 of the team's 39 assists and junior Kaylee Thomas anchored the back-row defense with 13 assists.
FINALLY! ????????#BamaVB #RollTide pic.twitter.com/0sOYDpqNj7
— Alabama Volleyball (@AlabamaVBall) August 30, 2019
From Head Coach Lindsey Devine
"Over the course of the match, we continually improved and by set three we hit our stride. We were executing the things we talked about in practice. The carryover of the serve game from practice was exactly what we needed to create some disruption for the opponent and them not being able to stay in system. We had the opportunity to get some freshmen in there to get some jitters out and that was important. Out-blocking them 9-5 and holding the 35-24 advantage in digs are part of our identity that we're going to continue to reinforce."
Stat Leaders
- Kills – Ginger Perinar (9)
- Assists – Meghan Neelon (32)
- Aces – Meghan Neelon, Kaylee Thomas (2)
- Digs – Kaylee Thomas (13)
- Blocks – Alyiah Wells (5)
Set-by-Set
- Set One (Alabama 25, Marist 20): The two teams traded the lead back and forth early on, with eight tie scores before a kill from freshman Alyiah Wells capped a 5-1 run from Alabama to make it 17-14. That forced Marist to take its first timeout and the Red Foxes' took their second soon after, trailing 20-16. The Tide reached set point with a seven-point lead, 24-17, but three unanswered points from Marist forced an Alabama timeout at 24-20. A kill from senior Hayley McSparin after the break sealed the five-point victory.
- Set Two (Alabama 25, Marist 19): Alabama jumped ahead to an early 4-0 lead, forcing an early Marist timeout. The Red Foxes would draw within two, but the Tide padded its lead to five at the halfway mark, 12-7. Alabama was in front 19-12 at Marist's second timeout but a 5-1 run from the visitors cut the Tide's lead to three at 20-17. Alabama rebounded with a 5-2 run to close out the frame.
- Set Three (25-17): The Tide fell behind to start the third set, trailing by as much as four points before coming back to lead 10-9. Alabama took a timeout later trailing 16-14 but quickly rallied to take a 17-16 lead after a solo block from Wells, with Marist taking its own timeout. Back-to-back points for the Tide forced the Red Foxes to quickly burn their second timeout down 19-16 and Alabama rolled to a 6-1 run to close out the set and the match.
#CollegeColorsDay ???? pic.twitter.com/p9ukFRT1pI
— Alabama Volleyball (@AlabamaVBall) August 30, 2019
Key to the Match
After eight tie scores early in set one, a kill from junior Doris Carter gave Alabama a 14-13 lead and would not trail until the start of the third set, eventually retaking the lead at 10-9 and only trailing once more down the stretch.
Player of the Match
Senior Ginger Perinar led all players with nine kills, hitting .333 from the right side.
Up Next
Alabama plays a second match on Friday, Aug. 30 against tournament hots University at Buffalo at 6 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.
