Alabama
8-6,0-2SEC
LSU
5-6,1-1SEC
Alabama Volleyball Falls in Hard-Fought Five Set Match at LSU Saturday
9/25/2021 8:05:00 PM | Volleyball
The Crimson Tide and Tigers were tied as late as 11-11 in the decisive final set
BATON ROUGE, La. – Alabama volleyball and LSU battled to a decisive fifth set Saturday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, with the Tigers ultimately edging out the Crimson Tide late in the final frame to take the match.
Alabama (8-6, 0-2 SEC) fell into an early 8-1 hole to LSU (5-6, 1-1 SEC) in the opening set but rallied back to within a point, down 8-9. The Tide drew within one multiple times but could not tie the match as the Tigers pulled away at the end to win, 25-16. Down 9-8 in the second set, Alabama rattled off five unanswered points before LSU was forced to take a timeout now trailing 13-8. The Tigers fought back and pulled back ahead at 17-16 but the lead was short-lived with the Tide closing out the frame with an 8-4 run to win, 25-22, and even the match at 1-1.
Up 7-6 in set three, Alabama scored five in a row to increase the lead to 12-6 before LSU was forced to call a timeout. It was all Crimson Tide from that point on, cruising to a 25-16 win to take a 2-1 match lead. The Tigers stormed back in the fourth, scoring the first point and not trailing for the remainder of the frame, winning 25-14 to force a fifth set.
The teams traded back and forth in the deciding set, with Alabama taking its first timeout tied at 7-7 and its second soon after, down 9-8. Tied at 11-11, the Tigers closed it out with a 4-1 run to win, 15-12, and take the match.
Shaye Eggleston and Kendyl Reaugh led the team with 11 kills each, a new season high for Eggleston. Fellow freshman Brooke Slusser finished with a season-high four aces and led the team with 22 assists, adding 10 digs for her first double-double. With a pair of service aces, Abby Marjama has now earned at least one ace in 12 of the Tide's 14 matches this season, including the last seven straight.
Stat Leaders
- Kills: Shaye Eggleston, Kendyl Reaugh - 11
- Assists: Brooke Slusser - 22
- Digs: Dru Kuck - 11
- Blocks: Chaise Campbell - 3
- Aces: Brooke Slusser - 4
Set-by-Set
- Set 1: LSU 25, Alabama 16
- Set 2: Alabama 25, LSU 22
- Set 3: Alabama 25, LSU 16
- Set 4: LSU 25, Alabama 14
- Set 5: LSU 15, Alabama 12
Match Notes
- The loss was Alabama's first this season when scoring more service aces than the opponent
- Shaye Eggleston set a new season high in kills for the second-straight match, finishing Saturday with 11
- Brooke Slusser led the team with a season-high four aces and finished with 22 assists and 10 digs for her first double-double
- Eggleston and Kendyl Reaugh tied for the team lead in kills for the second-straight match
- With six kills in the match, Abby Marjama is now 31 away from the 1,000th of her career
- Marjama has earned at least one service ace in 12 of the Tide's 14 matches this season, including the last seven straight
Up Next: Alabama at Auburn
- Saturday, Oct. 2 – 4:30 p.m. CT
- Sunday, Oct. 3 – 2 p.m. CT - ESPNU
