Tennessee volleyball falls to Alabama
Tennessee volleyball dropped its fourth consecutive match, as they lost to Alabama 3-2 in five sets on Sunday afternoon.
Tennessee fell to Alabama 3-2 in Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday. The loss marks the Lady Vols fourth straight loss.
Tessa Grubbs was dominant for Tennessee (8-7, 1-5 SEC) in the opening, as she hit .364 to go along with five kills. Unfortunately for the Lady Vols, the Crimson Tide would go on to win the set 25-20. The Vols got within three points five separate times in the first set, but couldn’t close it out.
The second set started with a 5-1 Alabama (13-6, 2-4 SEC) lead, but Tennessee took its first lead of the game following a 6-1 run. The Vols contained the lead for the remainder of the set, and tied the match 1-1 with a 25-23 win in the set.
Tennessee kept the hot hand going into the third set after going up 4-1, but the Crimson Tide fought back to narrow the lead to 6-5. After Alabama bounced back within three points at 18-15, the Volunteers finished 7-3 to put away the Crimson Tide and take a 2-1 match lead. However, the hot streak would quickly turn cold for Tennessee.
The fourth set was tied 13 times and had seven total lead changes. The Vols jumped out to a tight 14-13 lead, but a 3-0 run triggered by two kills and a block from Mahalia Swink put Alabama ahead. Tennessee regained a 23-22 lead late in the set, but the Crimson Tide channeled another three-point win to take the fourth set and even the match.
Alabama struck first in the final set with an early 8-4 lead, but the two teams traded points back-and-forth to create a 13-9 lead for the Crimson Tide. Alabama finished the Volunteers off for good after a 15-9 win in the fifth set to win the match 3-2.
Leah Lawrence and Ginger Perinar lead the Crimson Tide with a combined 37 kills and four blocks on Sunday afternoon.
Although Tennessee dropped its fourth consecutive loss, they had a few notable statistics. Madison Coulter and Asha Phillips tallied a career-high 11 kills, while Sedona Hansen logged her sixth double-double of the season. Olivia Schwambeger would record a career-high eight kills.
Tennessee will continue SEC play on Wednesday, as they travel to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. The match is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Featured image courtesy of UT Sports
Edited by Ben McKee
