The Alabama volleyball team met the Georgia Bulldogs for the second time this season, this time at the Crimson Tide’s Foster Auditorium. In their first meeting, Georgia outlasted the Tide 3-2.
On Sunday, Alabama was swept by the Bulldogs, narrowly losing all three sets 23-25, 22-25 and 24-26.
“We just really never got any momentum,” said Laura Steiner, reigning Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week. “Nothing really came together for us.”
The Tide built a comfortable, first-set cushion but saw it slip away after leading the Bulldogs 19-14. Georgia went on an 11-4 run to win the set.
The second set followed the same script as Alabama held the lead for most of the set. But Georgia fought back to take control of the overall match 2-0.
“I think we can show a lot more competitive spirit than what we’ve got,” head coach Ed Allen said. “I think we can play with a lot more consistency, and I think we can defend a heck of a lot better than what we’re doing.”
In the third set, the Tide started off strong again with a 5-0 run, but allowed Georgia to hang around too long and ultimately claim the set and the match.
Steiner said her teammates played better than they did on Friday, Oct. 19, against the Florida Gators. Alabama lost to the Gators 0-3.
“I think the middle did a better job than in the last game of trying to get to the blocks,” Steiner said. “We definitely stuck to our game plan, we just didn’t really come together for it.”
Senior Kayla Fitterer recorded 15 kills, five digs and a .310 hitting percentage. Steiner tacked on 13 kills, and freshman Kryssi Daniels led the Tide with 11 digs.
Alabama falls to 14-9 on the season, with a conference record of 3-8. This loss was the Tide’s third-straight conference loss and second sweep in a row.
“I think we need to work on our energy and just being able to find our way out of a rut like that,” Steiner said. “We’ve done it before, and we’ve shown it earlier in the season. I don’t know what it is about Georgia, but today just wasn’t our best.”
The Tide will travel to Fayetteville, Ark. on Friday for its next game against the Razorbacks.
