Alabama
12-10,4-7SEC
Missouri
15-6,7-4SEC
Alabama Drops Hard-Fought Five Set Match to Missouri Friday
11/8/2019 10:57:00 PM | Volleyball
The Crimson Tide returns to Foster Auditorium Sunday, hosting Tennessee at 2 p.m. CT
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – In a hard-fought match that stretched past the 15-point mark in the fifth set, Alabama was edged out by Missouri Friday night in Foster Auditorium.
Alabama (12-10, 4-7 SEC) fell to Missouri (15-6, 7-4 SEC) in the first set, 25-22, before rallying back to take the next two 25-20 and 25-23, respectively. A 25-22 loss for the Crimson Tide in the fourth set forced a fifth frame, with the Tigers edging out the narrow 18-16 decision.
As a team, Alabama tied its season-high marks with 19 blocks and nine service aces. Graduate transfer Eva Borrowdale and junior Doris Carter both tallied career highs in kills with 12 and 18 respectively. Junior Meghan Neelon earned her first double-double of the season with 25 assists and 10 digs, while senior Kaylee Thomas had a team-leading 21 digs, putting her 18 away from the 1,000th of her career.
FROM HEAD COACH LINDSEY DEVINE
"Obviously we're disappointed, it hurts when you lose. We battled hard and were on the edge of taking a victory where one or two points here and there could have made the difference. Our focus went in a different direction and that was the difference between us finishing it out and coming just short."
STAT LEADERS
- Kills – Doris Carter (23)
- Assists- Meghan Neelon (25)
- Aces- Meghan Neelon, Kaylee Thomas (3)
- Blocks- Alyiah Wells, Hayley McSparin, Emily Janek (7)
- Digs – Kaylee Thomas (18)
SET-BY-SET
- Set One (Missouri 25, Alabama 22): Alabama fell behind early, 4-1, before scoring four in a row to move in front, 5-4. After two tie scores, the Tide started to pull away with a 5-1 run as an ace from Thomas made it 11-7. Missouri scored three unanswered to make it a one-point game, but the Tide stayed in front leading by two at the media timeout. The Tigers gathered momentum after the break, with a 7-1 run putting the visitors ahead 20-16 before Alabama called a timeout. The Tide took its second timeout trailing 23-18 and Missouri reached set point on the next rally. Trailing 24-18, Alabama scored four unanswered before the Tigers were forced to take a timeout with their lead trimmed to 24-22. Missouri won it on the next rally however, 25-22.
- Set Two (Alabama 25, Missouri 20): The teams traded evenly to start the match until, tied at 5-5, Alabama scored three in a row to take a three-point lead, maintaining it all the way to the media timeout at 15-12. Leading by three again later, 19-16, a kill from freshman Alyiah Wells made it a four-point game at the 20-point mark and Missouri took its first team timeout. An ace from Neelon and a block from Wells and senior Ginger Perinar stretched the lead even further to 22-16 and the Tigers quickly spent their second timeout. Alabama reached set point at 24-17 but Missouri kept the frame going with back-to-back points and the Tide took a timeout at 24-19. The Tigers scored another after the break but a kill from Wells on the next rally ended it as the five-point win evened the match.
- Set Three (Alabama 25, Missouri 23): Missouri started the third on an 8-2 run before Alabama was forced to burn an early timeout. Two more points after the break stretched the difference to 10-2 before the Tide rallied to draw within four and the Tigers took their own timeout, now ahead 12-8. After two points gave Missouri a 14-8 lead, a kill from Carter and a kill and solo block from Borrowdale drew Alabama within three as Missouri spent its final timeout leading 14-11. Later trailing 17-12, a kill from Wells followed by three-straight blocks closed the gap to one point at 17-16. Another block three points later knotted it up at 18-18 and a kill from Borrowdale three points after that pushed the Tide in front, 20-19. Back-to-back points for Missouri swung it back in their favor and Alabama spent its final timeout trialing 21-20. Three in a row gave the Tide the late lead, 23-21, before the Tigers stormed back to tie it at 23-23. A block from Wells and freshman Emily Janek made it set point and a kill from Wells off an overpass clinched the 25-23 win to give Alabama a 2-1 match advantage.
- Set Four (Missouri 25, Alabama 22): Missouri built an early 10-6 lead before three-straight from Alabama trimmed the deficit to one. Later at 11-10, a 4-1 run from the Tigers extended their lead to 15-11 at the media timeout. The Tide would draw as close as two points but Missouri stretched it back to five at the 20-point mark as Alabama took a timeout. The Tide spent its second timeout soon after, trailing 22-17, but would storm back after that to draw within two and make it 23-21 as Missouri burned both of its timeouts in the process. A point for each team made it 24-22 and a kill on the next rally gave the Tigers the 25-22 win to send it to a fifth set.
- Set Five (Missouri 18, Alabama 16): Alabama scored the first point of the frame and jumped ahead to a 6-3 lead before three quick points from Missouri tied the set at 6-6. The Tide was in front at the switch, 8-7, and the back half of the set was neck-and-neck with six tie scores until a solo block from senior Hayley McSparin gave Alabama match point, 14-13. A Missouri kill on the next rally tied it and then a kill from Carter gave the Tide match point again, but back-to-back kills for the Tigers gave the visitors match point. McSparin and Janek teamed up for a block to tie it at 16-16 but a kill and service ace for Missouri put the visitors on top, 18-16, to win it in five.
KEYS TO THE MATCH
- Alabama tied a season high with nine service aces but also committed 10 service errors, tied for its highest total in SEC play
- The Tide's block was a strong point, totaling a season-best 19 after totaling 18 in last Sunday's matchup against Ole Miss
- Junior Doris Carter led all players with 23 kills, but Missouri had two players with 20-plus kills
- Alabama had match point twice in the fifth set and tied the score at 16-16 but could not score the final point
UP NEXT
Alabama hosts Tennessee (10-12, 4-8 SEC) on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 2 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.
