Alabama
8-4, 0-1SEC
Texas A&M
9-2, 1-0SEC
Volleyball Falls to Texas A&M, 3-1, Tuesday in College Station
9/24/2019 10:11:00 PM | Volleyball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Alabama rallied late to win a third set over Texas A&M but the Aggies held on to win the fourth and take the match, 3-1, over the Crimson Tide.
Alabama (8-4, 0-1 SEC) dropped a pair of close decisions to Texas A&M (9-2, 1-0 SEC), falling by scores of 25-20 and 25-19 before rallying with a late push in the third to win, 25-23, and send the match to a fourth set. An early 8-0 run from the Aggies gave the home team plenty of cushion in the fourth however, allowing them to hold on and win, 25-19, to claim the four-set victory.
Graduate transfer Eva Borrowdale tied her season high with 11 kills along with a .417 clip and a pair of blocks. Sophomore Erin Curl and freshman Alyiah Wells were tied with nine kills each, combining for seven blocks while senior Hayley McSparin stuffed a season-high six blocks. Freshman Emily Janek made her Tide debut, pacing the offense with 22 assists.
Stat Leaders
- Kills – Eva Borrowdale (11)
- Assists – Emily Janek (22)
- Aces – Ashley Homan, Kaylee Thomas (2)
- Digs – Kaylee Thomas (16)
- Blocks – Hayley McSparin (6)
Set-by-Set
- Set One (Texas A&M 25, Alabama 20): Texas A&M jumped ahead to the early 5-1 lead, but some key blocks helped Alabama fight back to eventually tie it at 7-7. The Tide could not take the lead however, falling behind by five at the media timeout, 15-10. Alabama drew back within two points but a 3-1 run from the Aggies put the home team in front 21-17 and the Tide took a timeout. The margin remained the same at set point and a kill on the next rally gave Texas A&M the five-point victory.
- Set Two (Texas A&M 25, Alabama 19): Alabama took its first lead of the match early in set two, leading 3-2 before Texas A&M scored four straight to retake the lead at 6-3. A service error ended the streak but the Aggies scored three more unanswered after that to pull ahead 9-4, forcing a Tide timeout. Alabama came out strong on the other side of the break, scoring four in a row to make it a one-point game and the score was knotted up three points later at 10-10. The Tide moved ahead at the halfway mark, 12-11, but the Aggies soon moved back in front at 13-12. After two more tie scores, the home team started to gather momentum with a 5-1 run to lead 19-15 before Alabama burned its second timeout. The Tide scored back-to-back points out of the break but the Aggies closed it out with a 6-2 run to win by six.
- Set Three (Alabama 25, Texas A&M 23): Trailing 3-2 early, Alabama scored four in a row to pull ahead 6-3. Texas A&M fought back to tie it at 11-11 and eventually move back ahead at 14-13. After three tie scores, a kill from junior Doris Carter and a service ace from Borrowdale gave Alabama a 20-18 lead. After a Texas A&M timeout, they scored back-to-back points to tie it at 20-20 as Alabama called its own timeout. The Tide took its final timeout four points later trailing 23-21 before scoring two to tie it late at 23-23 and force an Aggie timeout. A kill from McSparin off an overpass gave the Tide set point and senior Ginger Perinar capped it with a service ace.
- Set Four (Texas A&M 25, Alabama 19): A 6-0 scoring run early helped the Aggies build a 7-2 lead, forcing an early Tide timeout. The scoring run eventually ended at eight unanswered points, giving them enough cushion to lead by six at the halfway mark, 12-6. Alabama would draw as close as three points in the second half of the set, but Texas A&M held on to win, 25-19, and take the match.
Keys to the Match
- When Alabama found early success, it was with the block, posting five in the first set as opposed to two from Texas A&M. The Aggies held the 7.5-7 edge across the remaining three sets.
- Alabama committed just one service error in the opening set but combined to total eight over the remainder of the match.
- After hitting .325 and .471 in the first two sets, respectively, Texas A&M struggled in the third set hitting .114 but gathered momentum back with its longest scoring run of the night early in the fourth set, tallying eight unanswered points.
Up Next
Alabama returns to Tuscaloosa on Sunday, Sept. 29, hosting Arkansas (6-6, 0-0 SEC) at 2 p.m. CT in Foster Auditorium.
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.
