TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – In just their fourth home match, the Tide dropped a tough one to arch-rival Auburn Tigers (28-26, 22-25, 15-25, 15-25). The Tigers came into the match at 11-0.
The Tide took an early 9-3 lead to force an Auburn timeout to start the 1st set. Alabama staved off Tiger attacks to hold its lead at 16-10. An Auburn block cut that lead to 2, with the Tide holding a 21-19 advantage. A kill by freshman OH Micah Gryniewicz won the Tide set 1 28-26.
Set 2 started in favor of Auburn, as two consecutive Tiger blocks propelled them out to a 7-11 lead. An overhead kill by senior MH Aliyah Wells cut the deficit to 14-15. An Auburn kill put them ahead 18-22. The Tide went on to drop set 2 22-25.
A Tiger tool allowed Auburn to hold an 8-12 lead. A Tide attacking error gave the Tigers a 12-18 lead. An Alabama net violation furthered the Tigers’ dominant 13-22 lead. This set saw the Tigers looking more like the undefeated team expected to show up, taking an impressive 15-25 set 3 victory.
The Auburn momentum continued, as they raced out to a 4-12 lead. A nice service run by junior L Victoria Schmer cut the Tiger lead to 11-16. Three straight Auburn blocks took them to an 11-22 lead. A Tide service error sealed the deal as Auburn won the 4th and final set 15-25.
Though the Alabama defense shut down Auburn attacks in the first set, the Tide was unable to continue this throughout the match, and were dominated in the final two sets. The Tide now falls to 6-8 (0-2), and will face the now 12-0 Tigers again tomorrow.
