Alabama Volleyball Goes 2-0 Friday in San Antonio

Friday, September 13

San Antonio, Texas

12:30 p.m. CT

Alabama

6-1,0-0SEC

Sam Houston

3-4,0-0CUSA

Sam Houston

Alabama

Alabama Volleyball Goes 2-0 Friday in San Antonio

9/13/2024 10:57:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

The Crimson Tide defeats Sam Houston, 3-1, and tournament host UTSA, 3-2

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Alabama volleyball earned a pair of hard-fought wins Friday at the Roadrunner Classic, defeating Sam Houston in four sets in the afternoon before returning that night to earn a comeback victory in five sets over tournament host UTSA.

Alabama (7-1) started the day against Sam Houston (4-4), finishing the opening set with six unanswered points to win, 25-21, before the Bearkats evened up the match with a 25-10 decision in the second. In the third, the Crimson Tide reached set point at 24-16 and Sam Houston scored four in a row before a Kayla Keshock kill sealed the 25-20 win to take the match lead. After taking a 4-3 lead early in set four, Alabama did not fall behind for the remainder of the frame though the Bearkats did tie the score at 18-18. Leading 22-21 a few points later, the Tide rattled off three in a row to end the set and the match.

In the nightcap against tournament host UTSA (4-5), the two teams were neck-and-neck in the opening set, going past the 25-point mark as Alabama held on to win, 27-25. Set two played out in a similar fashion, with a late Roadrunner attack error tying the frame for the 10th time at 24-24. The home team scored back-to-back after that to take the set, 26-24, and even the match. The Tide jumped ahead to an early 9-3 lead in the third but the Roadrunners clawed back, eventually tying it up at 15-15. UTSA took the lead on the next point and wouldn't fall behind the rest of the way, winning 25-22 to take a 2-1 match advantage. After a timeout trailing 18-14 in the fourth set, Alabama battled back to tie it at 19-19 and take a late lead at 22-21, eventually winning 25-22 to force a fifth and final set. The Tide held the early momentum in the fifth, leading 8-5 at the halfway mark and hanging on to win, 15-12, to complete the comeback.

FROM HEAD COACH RASHINDA REED

"Tonight's game challenged us a little differently. We were up after the first set and then we kind of took our foot off the gas. We could have sat there and completely given up, especially in a very tough environment, but these ladies started leaning on each other. We've talked about this before, the coaches can't give them energy on the court all the time. They have to be able to generate that themselves. They leaned on each other and did that tonight. It came from their desire to earn that win. UTSA really wanted that, especially in their own gym. We just chipped away. It was always pretty but there's something to be said about our mindset and the relationships they have with each other. I feel like that is going to take us very far."

NOTES

The win over Sam Houston marked the fifth time this season Alabama has held an opponent under a .200 hitting percentage
The Crimson Tide is now 4-1 this season when tied after two sets, with three of those ending up as four-set wins
Francesca Bertucci finished with a season-best 26 digs in the win over Sam Houston
Jordyn Towns made her second appearance of the season vs. Sam Houston, hitting .500 with eight kills and just one error on 14 swings, before making her first start of the year against UTSA
For the second straight match, Chaise Campbell tied her season-high with five blocks vs. the Bearkats
The win over UTSA was Alabama's second five-set win of the season, both of which the Tide had to come back from a 2-1 match deficit
Chaise Campbell led the team with career-best 19 kills vs. UTSA, beating her previous best of 15 set against Florida last season (Oct. 8, 2023)
Sophie Agee earned her second double-double of the season vs. the Roadrunners, posting 19 kills and 10 digs
Alabama's 11 aces vs. UTSA was its highest total of the season