Alabama finished its 2025 SEC Tournament run with a 1-1 record, with a win over the South Carolina Gamecocks in Round 1 and a loss to the Florida Gators in Round 2. Alabama finished its season with a 14-13 record, including a 6-11 record in the SEC.
Round 1: Alabama 3, South Carolina 1
Alabama won its Round 1 matchup against South Carolina by a final score of 3-1. It was the second time the teams had met this season, with Alabama sweeping the Gamecocks back on Oct. 19
Alabama was in complete control in Set 1, with the team not trailing the entire set until the final moments when the Gamecocks took a 23-22 lead. However, two quick kills from Victoria Barrett and Sophie Agee, followed by a Gamecock attacking error, gave Alabama the win at 25-22.
South Carolina came out firing in Set 2, starting off on an 11-4 run. Despite a late push from Alabama, South Carolina held on to win 25-22. Alabama returned the favor in Set 3, with a 10-4 run to start, and continued the dominance throughout the set with a 25-14 victory. Alabama clinched its victory in Set 4 with another late 10-4 run to go on to win 25-21.
Head coach Rashinda Reed was pleased with how her team performed
“I was proud of our team tonight,” Reed said. I thought they executed at a high level with a relentless mindset. You can tell there’s a great deal of trust between everyone. We’ve fought through a lot of adversity through the season and now we’re peaking at the right time.”
For the second straight match, Barrett led the team with 23 kills and 19 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Trinity Stranger and Ryelle Rondo also finished with double-digit digs, with 19 and 16, respectively. Ashby Daniel had a career high in blocks with nine.
Alabama’s defense was too much for the Gamecocks. The Crimson Tide held them to a .164 hitting percentage and had 13.5 blocks, the team’s second highest of the season.
Round 2: Florida 3, Alabama 0
Alabama lost to Florida for the second time this season, effectively ending the Crimson Tide’s season.
Alabama and Florida went on a back-and-forth run in Set 1, with Florida pulling out the 25-23 win. The Gators used that momentum in Set 2, with a dominant 25-6 win which included a 14-0 run. Alabama tried to fight back in Set 3, but Florida was just too much for Alabama and went on to win 25-23.
“Today was not the outcome that we wanted but I was incredibly proud of this team,” Reed said. “There was a fight within this team and, while it was a challenging season, culturally all the things we learned led to that last set where we just went after it until the very last point, and that’s something that I’m incredibly proud of.”
Alabama struggled to keep up with the Gators’ offense. The team had a .086 hitting percentage, and the Gators had more points (75-52) kills (51-25) and assists (47-25).
“With everything we accomplished this year, I think we shocked a lot of people, and it makes me really happy to know that I’ve left the program like this,” Agee said. “I can’t wait to see the growth next year.”
