TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama volleyball opened its 2022 season and the tenure of first-year head coach Rashinda Reed with a pair of wins Friday at Foster Auditorium, defeating McNeese in four sets before sweeping UTSA in the nightcap.
The Crimson Tide and Cowgirls split the first two sets in the day’s opening match by identical scores of 25-19 before Alabama took the lead with a convincing 25-15 win in the third and closed it out with a 25-22 win in the fourth. The Tide took home a pair of two-point wins in the first two frames against the Roadrunners, 25-23 and 27-25, before a raucous Foster Auditorium crowd helped push Alabama to a 4-1 run to close out the third set and complete the sweep, 25-20.
Freshman Micah Gryniewicz led the team with 26 combined kills on the day in her collegiate debut, averaging 3.71 per set. Alyiah Wells was close behind with 20 kills along with a team-leading eight blocks. Abby Marjama posted five service aces in the match against McNeese while Kendyl Reaugh covered plenty of ground on defense with a team-leading 20 combined digs.
“The crowd today really gave us a big homecourt advantage and it was a really tough atmosphere for the opponent to play in, so our ladies kept up their energy and were putting that out there. Heading into tomorrow we’re really just focusing on ourselves. It’s week one so everyone is working out their teams and we’ve been doing the same thing. We’re really focusing on dialing it in. The defense has been great, we were aggressive from the service line and at the net and put it all out there.”
Notes
- Freshman Micah Gryniewicz posted double-digit kills in each match, leading the team with 26 kills
- Alyiah Wells led the team with 12 kills in the sweep over UTSA, hitting .667 with just two errors on 15 swings
- Kendyl Reaugh led the team in digs in both matches, posting 11 over McNeese and nine against UTSA
- Chaise Campbell’s five blocks (2 solo, 3 assisted) in the win over the Cowgirls is just two shy of her career high
Stat Leaders vs. McNeese
Set-by-Set vs. McNeese
- Set 1: Alabama 25, McNeese 19
- Set 2: McNeese 25, Alabama 19
- Set 3: Alabama 25, McNeese 15
- Set 4: Alabama 25, McNeese 22
Stat Leaders vs. UTSA
Set-by-Set vs. UTSA
- Set 1: Alabama 25, UTSA 23
- Set 2: Alabama 27, UTSA 25
- Set 3: Alabama 25, UTSA 20
Up Next: Crimson Tide Invitational
- Saturday, Aug. 27 vs. Southern Miss…
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