TUSCALOOSA, AL – In one of their final matches of the 2023 season, Alabama volleyball faced off against the Florida Gators.
The Tide were able to capitalize on a few Gator errors and took an impressive 14-7 lead off an ace by DS Sydney Gholson to kick off set 1. However, Florida was quick to clean up their act, tying the set at 15. The Tide would go on to drop a tight set 1 (23-25).
Set 2 saw both teams play point-for-point early on, with a big block by MH Chaise Campbell giving the Tide a 17-15 edge. Unfortunately, the team just couldn’t finish, as a 10-3 Florida run ended set 2 with another loss (20-25).
The Tide found themselves down early in set 3, trailing 11-14. The Tide would go on to lose set 3, and the match 0-3, (23-25, 20-25, 22-25).
Head coach Rashinda Reed commented, “There’s fight in this team and they don’t quit. That’s all I can ask from a team, [to] put it all out there.”
With the loss, the Tide falls to 10-16 (0-15). With three conference matches to go, an 0-15 performance with only 5 sets won is a significant step backward in Reed’s second year as head coach. The incoming recruiting class will need to have a big impact for the program to start moving towards success.
Elliott Scully serves as WVUA-FM’s senior volleyball writer. Follow Elliott on X @elliottscull.
