Alabama volleyball fell to Georgia in straight sets on Sunday afternoon at Foster Auditorium, 21-25, 23-25 and 15-25.
“We just didn’t execute the gameplan, we didn’t put pressure on the opponent on the service line, and we didn’t ball control really well,” said head coach Ed Allen.
Alabama (16-10, 4-8 SEC) and Georgia (17-9, 7-6 SEC) battled closely through the first two sets. The first set featured 12 lead changes and three ties, with the Bulldogs pulling away with 25-21 set victory. The second set was close throughout as well, with Georgia squeaking out a 25-23 set win.
The final set is where the Bulldogs pulled away from Alabama, winning the set by double-figures. Georgia got off to a 7-2 lead early, forcing an Alabama timeout and dominated the rest of that set.
Sophomore Hayley McSparin was the only Alabama player in double-figures for kills on Sunday. She finished with 10 and hit for a .412 percentage for the match.
Allen believes if her teammates had a better match, McSparin could have had bigger match.
“We struggled with ball control, so Hayley didn’t get nearly the opportunities she could have had,” Allen said.
Junior Quincey Gary led the Alabama defense with 19 digs on the match. She is now at 449 for the season, ranking seventh all-time in single-season history.
Senior Leah Lawrence collected three blocks in the game, putting her just eight away from the career Alabama record.
Alabama will host No. 6 Kentucky on Wednesday at Foster Auditorium at 7 p.m. This will wrap up the weekend with a match against Tennessee on Sunday at 1 p.m.
