Alabama hosted the No. 18 Florida State Seminoles Saturday and lost 3-0. The Crimson Tide has now suffered back-to-back defeats and is 8-3 on the season.
Set 1 started off back-and-forth between both teams, but Florida State was able to build itself a 5-point lead at 17-12. Alabama tried to pull off a late comeback, but a kill by Audrey Koenig gave Florida State a 25-23 win.
Florida State continued its dominance in the second set, starting off on a 7-0 run. Alabama once again drew back, tying the game at 22-22, but the effort wasn’t enough as Florida State kept its cool and won the set 25-23.
Set 3 was all Florida State. The Seminoles took the lead at 4-3 and never looked back, eventually locking in the win with a 25-13 final set.
Despite the loss, outside hitter Paris Thompson believed there were a lot of positives to take away from the game.
“I think today showed how good we can be going forward,” Thompson said. “It showed us our weaknesses and what we need to work on.”
Florida State’s offense proved to be too much for Alabama. The Seminoles had 50 kills compared to the Crimson Tide’s 35 and 46 assists to Alabama’s 32. Florida State’s .462 hitting percentage more than doubled Alabama’s .210.
Even with back-to-back losses, the team saw a lot of improvements.
“They were fighting,” head coach Rashinda Reed said. “From the start I felt like we were competing and battling.”
Alabama relied heavily on its younger talents throughout the match. Outside hitter Leilia Toailoa had four kills, 18 total attacks and 4.5 points in her second ever collegiate match, while freshman Ellery Rees had six kills on a .857 hitting percentage for eight points.
With SEC play kicking off, the team feels as though it has learned a lot from the matches it has played so far.
“I think this was a good match to show us that we really can play with anybody, and it’s really prepared us for the SEC,” middle blocker Jordyn Towns said.
The Crimson Tide heads off to Knoxville to face off against the Lady Volunteers for its first SEC matchup Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. CT. Fans can stream the game on the SEC Network.
