Alabama dropped another SEC matchup after a tough loss to the LSU Tigers. The match went to five sets with Alabama serving to win the match before a 4-0 scoring run by the Tigers.

“I thought we could have defended better than we did,” coach Ed Allen said. “[LSU] did a great job of being able to score points when we passed the ball poorly. When you live on the outside and expect a lot out of the outside [hitters], you have the ability to do that, and they did a great job being able to get quality swings when we disrupted them.”

Alabama forced LSU to commit 19 attacking errors in the match but LSU still had a lot of success on offense. The Tigers finished the match hitting at a .340 clip, Alabama finished the match with a .227 hitting percentage. However, the Crimson Tide continued to battle.

“We fought hard and I am proud of my team,” outside hitter Doris Carter said. “This is a big improvement over Ole Miss and Georgia where we kind of just gave up. Nothing but up from here.”

Carter, Haley McSparin, Cidavaia Hall, and Ginger Perinar led the Crimson Tide offensively. Perinar finished the match with 17 kills and Carter and McSparin were tied for second in kills with 13. Hall lead the team in hitting percentage with a .692 and in blocks with four. Carter continues to have a consistent year in her first season with the Crimson Tide stating that the coaches at Alabama have really improved her game.

“Definitely Ed Allen,” Carter said. “He taught me how to hit different shots and he taught me that its ok to tip and hit other shots in order to score points.”

Carter also contributes her consistent success to her teammates who continue to be supportive to her and the rest of the team. For Ginger Perinar, the team energy was a contributing factor in Alabama’s success in rallying back as well as keeping spirits high after such a tough loss.

“We talked a lot about having good energy,” Perinar said. “I am really happy about how the team came together even though the game was really close, and it was point by point going back and forth, we were able to stay patient and fight in that game. I liked the team chemistry a lot in that game but it sucked that we lost.”

With Alabama going on the road for the next three matches, Perinar stated that a loss like this hurts but will be important to learn from this week as the team prepares to play Kentucky on the road this Sunday.

“With Kentucky coming up and with them having such a great team this year I think that we are going to work a lot on reflecting and taking care of our bodies and then putting that into practice to see what each player can do better and then applying it to this upcoming weekend,” Perinar said.