TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama volleyball was neck-and-neck with No. 21 Florida Sunday afternoon at Foster Auditorium through three hard-fought sets, with the Gators ultimately taking the match by set scores of 25-23, 25-20 and 25-22.
Alabama (10-16, 0-15 SEC) got off to a hot start in the opening set, riding a 6-0 run to lead Florida (16-7, 8-6 SEC) 12-6. The Gators eventually tied it back up at 15-15 after their own 6-0 run and it was a back-and-forth battle in the second half, with four more tie scores down the stretch before it was knotted up a fifth time at 22-22 after a Florida attack error. Back-to-back kills gave the Gators set point before a block sent possession back to Alabama, but a kill in the next rally secured the two-point win for Florida.
The Gators got off to a 6-1 lead in the second before Alabama clawed back to take a 12-11 lead. Neither team held a lead larger than two points until a Tide attack error gave the Gators a 22-19 advantage. Following an Alabama timeout, Florida closed it out with a 3-1 run to win, 25-20. Set three started with five unanswered from the Gators but the Tide eventually rallied to tie it up at 16-16. The teams traded back and forth until Florida found some momentum down the stretch, winning 25-22 to take the match.
“I’m very proud of our team. I thought we did some really special things out there. You can see that a lot more people are gelling together. Kaleigh Palmer is starting to blossom on the outside and Jordyn Towns is finding herself out there too. This team has heart and they’re competitive. There’s fight in this team and they don’t quit. That’s all I can ask from a team is to put it all out there.”
Notes
- Kendyl Reaugh and Alyiah Wells continue their push towards 1,000 career kills, owning 965 and 958, respectively, after Sunday’s match
- Alabama limited Florida to a .212 hitting percentage, the fourth lowest clip in SEC play for the Gators
- Kaleigh Palmer finished with a season-best three blocks, one solo and two assisted
Stat Leaders
Set-by-Set
- Set 1: Florida 25, Alabama 23
- Set 2: Florida 25, Alabama 20
- Set 3: Florida 25, Alabama 22
Up Next: at Georgia
- Sunday, Nov. 19 – Athens, Ga. – 1 p.m. CT
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