TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Tide had a rough start to the Flo Hyman Cup, losing earlier in the day in 5 to Oregon State, and more recently losing in 3 (20-25, 15-25, 16-25) to the host Houston Cougars.
The Cougars were simply the better team today, besting the Tide in just about every statistical category. Alabama had only three less kills than Houston, but gave up about twice as many attacking errors. Service errors again plagued the Tide, as they amassed 16 service errors to only 4 aces, placing them at a great disadvantage throughout the match.
Set 1 was hard fought, with the Tide reacting well to Cougar attacks, earning 6 block assists. The powerful Houston offense, however, was eventually too much as Alabama dropped set one 20-25.
Houston seemed to find their groove in set 2. The Cougars enjoyed themselves as they dominated at the net, jumping out to a 7-13 lead off a great swing out of the middle. The Tide struggled to recover as Houston had everything going their way. Alabama would drop set 2 15-25.
Set 3 wasn’t much better. After a big double block by senior MH Alyiah Wells and 5th year senior Abby Marjama, a service error would put the Tide down 3-4. Houston didn’t seem to look back, cruising out to a 9-16 lead, aided significantly by Tide service errors. The teams traded points until it was Alabama serve on Houston match point. In a fitting way to end the day, the match ended in an Alabama service error, as the Tide dropped set 3 16-25.
The once confident Alabama team is left searching for answers after a tough day in Houston, falling to 3-2 on the season. They will attempt to redeem themselves tomorrow afternoon against Central Arkansas.
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