Alabama
5-1,0-0SEC
Arizona
6-0,0-0Big 12
Alabama Falls to Arizona in Four Sets Saturday
9/7/2024 1:53:00 PM | Volleyball
The Crimson Tide heads to San Antonio next weekend for the Roadrunner Classic
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama took its first loss of the young season Saturday, closing out its weekend at the ASU Collegiate Cup with a hard-fought loss to Arizona in four sets.
After trailing 5-1 early in set one, Alabama (5-1) rallied back to tie Arizona (6-0) at 8-8 and the score would be tied nine more times before the Wildcats pulled ahead late to win the set, 25-22. The two teams traded the lead back and forth in the second set, with Arizona as the first to reach set point at 24-23. A service error tied it back up before a Wildcat kill gave them set point yet again at 25-24. The next point was initially called an attack error against Alabama but, after conferring with the line judges, they overturned the call to a kill which knotted it up at 25-25. An Arizona attack error gave the Tide set point and Sophie Agee capped the frame with a kill to win, 27-25, and even the match at 1-1.
The third set played out much like the first two, with neither team building a lead larger than three points. That was the margin when the Wildcats reached set point and a kill on the next rally gave them the four-point win, 25-21, and the match lead. With Alabama up 10-9 in the fourth, Arizona scored five in a row before the Tide called a timeout now trailing 14-10. Alabama took its second timeout trailing 22-15 and looked to gather some momentum with three unanswered points after the break but the Wildcats ultimately held on to win, 25-21, and take the match in four sets.
Alabama finished with a season-high 13 blocks, led by Chaise Campbell with five. Sophie Agee led the team with 14 kills, adding a season-best 13 digs for her first double-double of the season. After earning a career-high three aces yesterday, Callie Kieffer improved on that total with four today.
FROM HEAD COACH RASHINDA REED
"There are a lot of lessons we learned this weekend and that's what the preseason is all about. We have a lot of amazing pieces on this team, but we need to stay locked in for the entire time. The ladies were disappointed because we knew we could have performed better, but we have the opportunity to learn and grow from this match. Arizona is a really good team and they pushed us. I'm glad we were able to play against some competitive teams this weekend and we're excited to learn and move forward."
NOTES
- Sophie Agee led the team with 14 kills, adding a season-best 13 digs for her first double-double of the year
- Agee has finished with double-digit kills in five of the team's six matches this season
- Callie Kieffer bested her career-high service ace total from yesterday with four today
- The 13 blocks are the most this year for the Tide, led by five from Chaise Campbell
STAT LEADERS
- Kills: Sophie Agee - 14
- Assists: Kayla Keshock - 22
- Digs: Francesca Bertucci - 15
- Blocks: Chaise Campbell - 5
- Aces: Callie Kieffer - 4
SET-BY-SET
- Set 1: Arizona 25, Alabama 22
- Set 2: Alabama 27, Arizona 25
- Set 3: Arizona 25, Alabama 21
- Set 4: Arizona 25, Alabama 21
UP NEXT: ROADRUNNER CLASSIC (SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS)
- Friday, Sept. 13 vs. Sam Houston – 12:30 p.m. CT
- Friday, Sept. 13 at UTSA – 7 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Sept. 14 vs. Central Arkansas – 11 a.m. CT
