After being named in the top 25 for the first time in program history, No. 25 Alabama volleyball faced one of its toughest tests of the season, narrowly defeating Samford in five sets 3-2 on Tuesday.
With Alabama up 11-9 in the fifth set, Samford took a timeout. From that point on the Crimson Tide took over, finishing on a 4-1 run to seal the win.
“Our kids do a really good job of being able to play from behind,” Alabama coach Ed Allen said. “They do a good job of understanding we are going to get to the fifth set, and when we get to the fifth set we believe that we’ve worked hard enough and have enough talent to have a chance to win.
It took about a set and a half before the Crimson Tide really got going, and it showed with Doris Carter.
Carter, who has been the most consistent player Alabama, had a hitting percentage of .000, meaning she had only four kills with four errors.
“I think that we just had a lack of communication, and I think with our record, we realized people are going to come out and give us their best game,” Carter said. “We have to stay focused and we have to be so consistent.”
Carter bounced back and finished with 13 kills and a .118 hitting percentage.
“Mentally, my biggest enemy is myself,” Carter said. “I have great players around me. I have great people around me just picking me up all the time. My teammates had my back the whole time and never gave up on me, which helps a lot.”
The Crimson Tide bounced back in the second set, taking it 25-21. Its hitting percentage jumped up from .089 in the first set to .382 in the second.
It gave up the third set 25-23, after leading 20-16. Four serving errors were the cause of the collapse.
“We didn’t pass well,” Allen said. “We didn’t serve well. We didn’t take care of the ball well. We did less than our best effort defending in terms of picking up hitters. We’re fortunate enough to tough it out and do what we needed to do to win.”
Alabama (10-0) looks to stay undefeated against South Alabama on Friday at 10 a.m.
