After being on the road for two games, Alabama volleyball returned to its home court in Foster Auditorium to win the match against Mississippi State in four sets.

Senior outside hitter Ginger Perinar set the momentum for the first set when she opened up with a kill, giving Alabama an early lead. Alabama keeps the lead throughout the set. After Mississippi State calls a timeout at set point (24-18), junior outside hitter Doris Carter recorded the final kill of the opening set. Carter would finish the game with 14 kills, her third-highest total this season.

Alabama earned the highest points it has seen since 2007 in the second set, getting within one point of a 40 point game. Alabama and Mississippi State battled back and forth for the lead during the second set with neither team eclipsing more than a five-point lead. Alabama kept the lead until late in the set when the score started to tighten up and Mississippi State saw its first lead of the match. The Bulldogs pulled out the win with two back-to-back points, closing out the set 39-37.

“It’s about heart and pride,” head coach Lindsey Devine said. “Regardless of what the outcome was, we had to keep on fighting. I posed a question at the end of that second set. Was that going to be our motivation or was that going to be something we were going to us as an anchor? They used it as a motivation.”

Devine’s speech seemed to worked as Alabama came back with a renewed energy in the third and fourth sets. Alabama took an early lead but the momentum did not start to pick up until freshman libero/defensive specialist Katie Shook got an ace, making the score 13-10. From then on out The Crimson Tide continued to lead and eventually won the set 25-17.

The fourth set was another back and forth battle between Alabama and Mississippi State. Perinar stepped her play up in the set recording five of her 15 kills in the final set of the match. Freshman opposite hitter/setter Emily Janek had a very strong defensive game, earning player of the match honors with her second double-double of the season with a season-high 55 assists and 17 digs.

“Coach always talks about how this is our house. We got to protect our house,” sophomore middle blocker Erin Curl said. “I think that we have a lot of pride in our team and our school. We just want to show our fans what we work on and how hard we work and just to stay supportive.”

The Crimson Tide bounced back after falling short to Georgia on Sunday.  The team struggled with communicating with each other, but resolved those issues in the match against Mississippi State. Janek said the connection with the hitters was much better in this match and they continued to fight throughout the night.

“We have really been talking about focus, composure and having the courage to go out there and I really think that they responded,” Devine said.

Alabama will be back on the road to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for its match against LSU on Friday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. CT.