The Alabama volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season Friday night, as Alabama fell 3-2 to Tulsa as part of the Hurricane Classic. The Crimson Tide is now 1-1 on the year after defeating South Dakota earlier the same day.
Alabama took the first set in a long 30-28 battle before Tulsa evened things up with a 29-27 second set win. The Hurricane pushed the Crimson Tide to the brink with a 25-21 victory in the third set, but Alabama responded to tie it up with a 25-22 win.
It all came down to the fifth set, with both teams having solid opportunities to put the match away. Tulsa held a match point at 14-13 before Alabama scored two straight points to earn a match point itself. The Hurricane responded with three straight points to win the set 17-15 and the match.
Redshirt senior middle blocker Krystal Rivers led Alabama with 23 kills, and junior outside hitter Kat Hutson added 19 kills of her own. Freshman middle blocker Haley McSparin also chipped in 16 kills, while junior middle blocker Leah Lawrence posted 14 kills. Rivers secured a double-double by adding 14 digs, and redshirt freshman setter Shannon Mikesky posted her second straight double-double with 67 assists and 16 digs. Junior libero Natalie Murison led the team in digs with 18, and McSparin paced the Crimson Tide with six blocks.
Playing South Dakota in its first game as part of the Hurricane Classic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Crimson Tide earned a 3-1 victory on Friday morning.
The match was close in the first two sets, with Alabama rallying from a 19-13 deficit in the first set to win it 25-23. Alabama controlled most of the second set on the way to a 25-21 set win. The Coyotes avoided the 3-set sweep with a 25-21 third set win, and very nearly won the fourth set as well. The Coyotes led the Crimson Tide 20-16 late in the fourth set before Alabama rallied. Facing the wrong side of set point twice in the fourth set, the Crimson Tide was able to get a 27-25 set win to take the match.
Redshirt senior middle blocker Krystal Rivers finished with a game high 24 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, as well as nine digs and two block assists. Junior middle blocker Leah Lawrence posted a .500 hitting percentage, finishing with a career high 15 kills. Redshirt freshman setter Shannon Mikesky posted a strong debut, finishing with a double-double of 47 assists and 14 digs.
Alabama posted 21 errors to South Dakota’s 18, but had 10 more total attacks and 14 more assists. In addition, the Crimson Tide posted a higher hitting percentage, posting a .276 compared to the Coyotes’ .212.
Alabama will wrap up its portion of the Hurricane Classic with a match against Incarnate Word Saturday morning at 11 a.m. CT.
