The Alabama Crimson Tide volleyball team beat UAB in four sets (25-15, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22) in the final game of the annual Bama Bash on Saturday in the CAVE. The Tide swept both previously undefeated Toledo and Furman on Friday, but struggled a bit against UAB in Saturday’s match.
The Tide easily won the first set 25-15. Seeming confident to sweep UAB like both Toledo and Furman, the Tide had an impressive 19 kills compared to UAB’s nine.
Beginning set one with an attacking percentage of 73, the Tide seemed unstoppable. However, in the second set, the Tide let the lead go four times and fell 20-25.
Head coach Judy Green pumped her team back up after breaking its seven-set win streak in the tournament.
“I told the girls to stay confident,” she said. “They needed to get control after the serve, receive and back up to handle the deep serves.”
From the locker room, the Tide looked unorganized in the first few minutes of set three. Miscommunication and slow reaction times slowed the Tide’s victory.
“We need to play more consistently,” sophomore outside hitter Kayla Fitterer said. “We need to receive more consistently and we cannot have any more lulls.”
The third set victory came late for the Tide. The final score of the set was 25-22. The Tide compiled 16 kills out of 35 attacking attempts. The slim margin of victory may have been due to the multiple errors. The Tide had a match-high seven errors in set three.
Coming back late in the fourth set, UAB pushed from 18 points to 22 points before making an error that cost them the match. In set four, the Blazers had more kills and nearly the same attacking percentage as the Tide. However, they fell 25-22.
In the third and fourth set, the Tide defeated UAB by just three points to take the match. Green said winning three games at home was huge.
“It is a huge confidence booster,” she said. “I liked the execution and I feel that UAB gave us their best effort. This is the best I have seen UAB play in the tournament. They made nice adjustments to our serves. We just need to stay confident throughout the rest of the season.”
The Tide completed its final match of the tournament with 68 digs, 74 points and an attacking percentage of .268. Alone, Fitterer compiled a .231 attacking percentage, 16 digs and 15 kills.
“We always stay in it,” Fitterer said. “We had lows, but we got back in it.”
With the win over UAB, the Tide is now 4-2 on the season. Alabama will play Alabama A&M Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the CAVE.
