The University of Alabama’s volleyball team fell in three sets to the No. 13 Florida Gators on Sunday at Foster Auditorium.

“We’re real pleased with how we approached the match,” head coach Ed Allen said. “We had a solid effort in the first set, and I thought our side out offense was very effective. We were able to give ourselves some chances and I thought we had a chance to win the first set.”

The Crimson Tide held tough in the first set, but would fall 21-25. Down 10-16, Allen called timeout to get his team refocused. Down by four with the score 15-19, sophomore Cortney Warren spiked the ball into the Florida defense giving a spark to the Alabama offense. The Tide would pull within two, but that was as close as they would get in the first set.

Warren, the outside hitter, had a big day for the Tide, posting 10 kills in the match and had a hitting percentage of .346 for the day.

With junior Kayla Fitterer still out, Tide players have had to step up to make up for her loss on the court. Sophomore Shelbi Goode led Alabama for the third straight match in digs, with 10 for the day.

As the second set started, Alabama fought its way back to have an 11-10 lead on the Gators. Florida’s coach Mary Wise called a timeout and they subsequently went on a 4-0 run. Tied at 14-14, the Gator’s went on a 6-0 run before Alabama was able to score again. The Tide would get only one more point before Florida ended the game on a 4-0 run.

“We saw things begin to break down for us from a passing perspective in the second set and obviously into the third set and that certainly put more pressure on us,” Allen said.

It was in the third set that the physical play of the Gators truly overpowered Alabama. Florida was too strong and too big for the Tide. Florida took over the third set, winning 25-13. The Gators were hitting at .355, with a 78 percent hitting percentage coupled with seven team blocks in the set. The Gators were also 11-14 in side-outs for the match. The Tide was held to hitting at -.48 and only 41 percent.

“This is a good defensive team,” Allen said. “They’re ability transition attack and side-out were extremely high, and they physically had a great matchup on us in all six rotations. We didn’t have the defensive effort that would allow us to overcome those matchups at the net.”

The Tide is now 10-11 overall on the season and 3-7 in conference play while Florida improves to 15-3 overall and 8-1 in the SEC.

Alabama will continue conference play on the road for the next two matches, playing at LSU on Friday and at Arkansas on Sunday.