The Crimson Tide rolled to another win as they defeated Auburn, 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23) at home Sunday. Alabama’s volleyball team holds its rank at No. 25 with an impressive 12-1 record, while the Tigers fall to 0-2 in the Southeastern Conference and 7-5 overall.
Auburn dominated at the net with a total of 11 blocks. Gwyn Jones celebrated a career high with six blocks, while Shaina White and Anna Stevenson each finished with four. Alabama, having just six blocks total, was headed by Cidavia Hall who put forth three.
Freshman Taylor Rowland had an impressive game with 16 kills. Rowland was followed by Jones, who had a season best at 14. Sophomore Anna Stevenson added 12 and senior Brenna McIlroy came through with 10 kills.
Tigers setter Mica Allison had 13 digs and 41 assists. The freshman has now holds three triple-doubles this season.
Sophomore libero Kaylee Thomas drove the Alabama’s back-row defense, having a career-high 19 digs. Ginger Perinar slammed 16 kills and 2 blocks, while sophomore Dorris Carter added 13 points with her kills.
Auburn started off strong in the first set, but Alabama responded with four back-to-back points giving them a 6-4 lead. Auburn trailed by only 1 at 20-19 after a few Alabama errors which were accompanied by a kill from Rowland and blocks from Jones and White. Alabama finished strong with a 25-22 set win.
The Tigers claimed a victory in the second set after having fought from an initial Alabama lead and coming to a tie twice throughout the set at 7-7 and 18-18. Auburn sealed its win with a kill from Rowland at 25-23.
The Tide gripped the lead in the third set until the Auburn offense pushed forward to a 20-19 advantage. After a timeout, Bama came back out to finish the set winning 25-23.
Alabama didn’t let up in the fourth set, but Auburn was able to tie up the game twice at seven and 13. A solo block and kills from Rowland followed by blocks from Jones and White helped the Tigers stay in the game, but the home team proved to be too strong, coming out with another 25-23 victory.
“When it came down to it, we just didn’t give ourselves opportunities and made some costly errors at the end.” Auburn head coach Rick Nold said on his team’s defeat.
The Tigers hope to come back strong as they head for another away match at Mississippi State on Wednesday. The game will start at 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
Auburn’s first Wednesday night match will be followed by an away game at Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
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