Alabama Volleyball Downs Missouri For First SEC Win

The Crimson Tide defeated the Tigers in five sets after falling behind early in the match.

Alabama Athletics

Alabama volleyball defeated Missouri on Wednesday night, picking up the program's first conference victory of the season. The final score was three sets to two in the Crimson Tide's favor.

With the win, Alabama improves to 9-9 on the season and is now 1-5 in the SEC.

The Crimson Tide dropped the first set to the Tigers before storming back to take both the second and third sets. Missouri struck back in the fourth set, tying the match at two sets apiece. However, a 15-13 rally by Alabama after falling behind 13-11 clinched the set and the match for the Crimson Tide.

Missouri has yet to win an SEC match and fell to 0-5 on the season in the conference.

Here is the full press release issued by Alabama Athletics:

Alabama Volleyball Battles to Five-Set Win over Missouri Wednesday

The Crimson Tide earns its first conference win of the season

COLUMBIA, Mo. — With both teams seeking their first conference win of the season, Alabama and Missouri battled to five sets Wednesday night at the Hearnes Center with the Crimson Tide coming away with the hard fought 3-2 victory.

Alabama (9-9, 1-5 SEC) fell in the opening set to Missouri (3-15, 0-5 SEC) before rallying with wins in the second and third to take a 2-1 match lead. The Tigers took a narrow four-point win in the fourth to send the match to a deciding fifth. With Missouri up 13-11, the Tide scored four unanswered for a late comeback to win, 15-13.

The win snaps a nine-match winning streak in the series for the Tigers, with Alabama earning its first win since 2015 and its first road win since 2014. The 61 kills and .221 hitting percentage are the Tide’s highest totals in conference play this season. Kennedy Muckelroy led the way with a career-high 18 kills and 10 digs, notching her first double-double of the season. Chaise Campbell hit .526 in the match, marking a new career high for the sophomore. Brooke Slusser paced the offense with a career-high 49 assists, the fifth time in the last six matches she has earned 20 or more.

Alabama scored the first point of the opening set before Missouri answered back with eight-straight points. The Tide fought back right away, tying it at 10-10 and then again later at 16-16. The Tigers would not give up the lead however, pulling back ahead 21-18 at Alabama’s second timeout and winning by five, 25-20. After five tie scores early in the second, a 5-1 run from the Tide made it 15-11 at the media timeout. Missouri drew as close as one point but Alabama held on to win, 25-21, to even the match.

The third set was another close battle with five tie scores before the Tide pulled ahead 11-8 at the Tigers’ first timeout. It was a four-point lead at Missouri’s second break, 18-14, and a 7-3 run closed out the frame for a 25-17 win to take a 2-1 match advantage. Needing to win the fourth to stay alive, the Tigers led 15-12 at the media timeout but the Tide clawed back, tying it 18-18 on a block from Laila Smith and Sami Jacobs. Missouri would take the late momentum however, winning the set 25-21 to force a fifth set.

The teams traded back-and-forth early in the deciding set, with the Tigers ahead 8-6 at the media timeout. After a timeout down 10-8, the Tide went on a 3-1 run with a service ace from Victoria Schmer tying it at 11-11. Alabama took a timeout trailing 13-11 before a kill from Jacobs and a block from Jacobs and Sarah Swanson knotted it up at 13-13, forcing a Missouri timeout. Another block gave Alabama match point before a Missouri attack error ended it and gave the Tide the win.

STAT LEADERS

• Kills: Kennedy Muckelroy - 18
• Assists: Brooke Slusser - 49
• Digs: Kennedy Muckelroy, Katie Shook - 10
• Blocks: Sarah Swanson - 4
• Aces: Sami Jacobs - 4

SET-BY-SET

• Set 1: Missouri 25, Alabama 20
• Set 2: Alabama 25, Missouri 21
• Set 3: Alabama 25, Missouri 17
• Set 4: Missouri 25, Alabama 21
• Set 5: Alabama 15, Missouri 13

MATCH NOTES

• The win snaps a nine-match winning streak for Missouri in the series, the first win for Alabama since 2015 and its first road win since 2014
• The 61 kills and .221 hitting percentage are the Tide’s highest totals in SEC play this season
• Kennedy Muckelroy earned her first double-double of the season with a career high 18 kills and 10 digs
• Chaise Campbell hit .526 in the match, marking a new career high
• Brooke Slusser finished the match with a season-best 49 assists, marking the fifth time in the last six matches she has totaled 20 or more
• Sami Jacobs tallied a season-high four aces
• Abby Marjama saw court time in Wednesday’s match, her first appearance since suffering an injury in the Sept. 25 contest at LSU

UP NEXT: ALABAMA VS. FLORIDA

• Wednesday, Oct. 20 – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – 7 p.m. CT - ESPNU