Alabama volleyball’s losing streak was extended to four games this weekend, with losses to Mississippi State and No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies. The team now sits at 8-6, with an 0-4 record in SEC play.
Game 1: Mississippi State 3, Alabama 1
Alabama lost to the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Friday by a final score of 3-1.
Set 1 was a tight contest, with neither team taking a lead larger than two points throughout the entire set. With Alabama up 24-23, the Crimson Tide clinched the win thanks to a service error from Mississippi State’s Ava Anderson by a final score of 25-23.
Set 2 was all Bulldogs. Mississippi State took a 3-2 lead early on and never looked back, keeping the lead for the whole round and winning 25-19. Set 3 played out in similar fashion. Both teams exchanged leads earlier on, yet the Bulldogs took an 8-7 lead and dominated from that point on, winning 25-18.
Set 4 was a tossup. Alabama initially got out to a 4-1 lead, however Mississippi State went on a 11-3 run and took a 12-7 lead. Alabama slowly crawled its way back to tie the game at 21-21; however, the Bulldogs offense was just too much and scored four straight kills to win the set 25-21 and the game 3-1.
Alabama’s offense shared the wealth throughout Friday’s game, with Victoria Barrett leading the way with 46 total attacks, 13 kills, and 14.5 points. Lily Gervase had a .684 hitting percentage, her second highest of the season along with 14 kills with 19 total attacks. Hannah Parant led the way with three service aces and 32 assists.
Game 2: No. 9 Texas A&M 3, Alabama 0
Alabama lost to the Texas A&M Aggies Sunday 3-0, the third time the team was swept this season.
Alabama got off to a hot start in Set 1, going on a 8-3 run to start the game. However, the Aggies offense proved to be too much for Alabama, and they went on to win the set 25-19. In Set 2, the Aggies’ defense completely overpowered the Crimson Tide offense, holding it to a -.111 hitting percentage and getting three blocks, winning 25-9.
Set 3 was the closest set of the game. It was a tossup for the first half of the set, with both teams exchanging leads. Yet the Aggies slowly built up a 13-10 lead and never looked back, closing out with a 25-18 win.
“We are learning a lot as we play these matches,” Ashby Daniel said. “We’re figuring out different ways to execute, and we are just working and that’s a huge improvement.”
The Aggies defense proved to be too much for the Alabama offense. The Crimson Tide was held to a .059 hitting percentage and committed 21 attacking errors, while the Aggies put up nine blocks and 44 kills.
“We’ve got to limit our errors, keep playing hard, and giving it everything and going all out,” Daniel said.
Alabama’s next game will be at home against the LSU Tigers on Friday, Oct. 10, at 5 p.m. CT. Viewers can watch on SEC Network.
