Alabama volleyball suffered its second loss of the season Wednesday night, falling to the North Alabama Lions 3-0. The loss snaps the Crimson Tide’s three-game win streak.
North Alabama got off to a hot start in the first set, taking the lead 4-3 and never looking back, at one point taking a 6-point lead. Alabama tried to claw back at the end of the first set, but it was too late and the Lions ended the set 25-20.
The second set was much more back-and-forth. North Alabama made a late run and forced the game to go to extra time, where the Lions came out on top 27-25 thanks to a set-winning kill by outside hitter Reese Ricketts.
In the third set, Alabama was ahead 14-6 before North Alabama went on an 11-point run to come back and win 25-20, completing the sweep.
Head coach Rashinda Reed felt like her team was unprepared from the start.
“We did not come out ready,” Reed said. “You could just tell from the start of warmups that they weren’t ready to go.”
Alabama struggled on offense, with 22 attack errors compared to North Alabama’s 13 and 11 service errors to North Alabama’s 10.
These errors resulted in a .133 hitting percentage, the Crimson Tide’s lowest of the season.
With Alabama struggling, North Alabama built its momentum. It was something Reed said Alabama harps on.
“You have to generate momentum from nothing,” Reed said. “That’s the biggest takeaway. That’s something we talk about constantly.”
Even with the loss, Alabama did have some shining moments. Middle blocker Chaise Campbell led the team with 10.5 points on a .333 hitting percentage for the game.
Setters Callie Kieffer and Kayla Keshock led with 16 assists each.
With SEC play right around the corner, the Crimson Tide hopes to build off of what it learned in the previous 10 games.
“We just have to put our foot on the gas and go,” Reed said.
Alabama will welcome the Florida State Seminoles into Foster Auditorium Saturday, Sept. 21, at 2 p.m. CT.
