RICHMOND, Va. – Facing a 2-1 match deficit, Alabama won the fourth to force a deciding final set but tournament host VCU ultimately took the fifth, 15-12, to hand the Crimson Tide its first loss of the season.

Alabama (4-1) rallied from a 25-17 loss in the first to defeat VCU (4-2) in the second, 25-18. The Rams answered to win by the same margin in the third before a big run late in the fourth propelled the Tide to a 25-17 win in the fourth to even it at 2-2. Alabama pulled within one late in the fifth but VCU held on to win by three and hand the Tide its first loss of the season.

Freshman Alyiah Wells led all players with 16 kills, hitting .483 along with a team-leading four blocks. Senior Ginger Perinar was also in double figures with 12, her highest total of the season. Junior Meghan Neelon and sophomore Mylana Byrd split the setting duties, combining for 51 of the team's 53 assists, with Neelon adding a career-best four service aces.

Alabama takes its first loss of the season as VCU wins in five#BamaVB #RollTide pic.twitter.com/0TZ9uXB2V8 — Alabama Volleyball (@AlabamaVBall) September 7, 2019

From Head Coach Lindsey Devine

"Firstly, I'd like to congratulate VCU on the win. I think they played more consistently than we did. We talk a lot within our team about the way we train in practice and how that translates to the game. You can try to create as much as you can in practice but, when it comes to the game-time atmosphere, at the end of the day you have to be able to execute. Tonight, we struggled with our consistency."

Stat Leaders

Set-by-Set

Set One (VCU 25, Alabama 17): Set one was tightly contested early, with neither team able to take a lead larger than two points until a four-point swing from VCU gave the home team a 12-8 edge, forcing an Alabama timeout. A 5-1 run after the break further extended the Rams' lead to 17-9 and they led by seven at the Tide's second timeout, 21-14. VCU remained in control down the stretch, eventually winning by eight.

Set one was tightly contested early, with neither team able to take a lead larger than two points until a four-point swing from VCU gave the home team a 12-8 edge, forcing an Alabama timeout. A 5-1 run after the break further extended the Rams' lead to 17-9 and they led by seven at the Tide's second timeout, 21-14. VCU remained in control down the stretch, eventually winning by eight. Set Two (Alabama 25, VCU 18): Tied at 7-7 in set two, Alabama scored four unanswered to pull ahead 11-7 as VCU took a timeout. The Tide steadily increased its lead in the middle of the set, leading 20-12 after a service ace from Byrd. Following a timeout from the home team, each would score four to make it set point, 24-16, and the Tide would seal it three points later to win by seven.

Tied at 7-7 in set two, Alabama scored four unanswered to pull ahead 11-7 as VCU took a timeout. The Tide steadily increased its lead in the middle of the set, leading 20-12 after a service ace from Byrd. Following a timeout from the home team, each would score four to make it set point, 24-16, and the Tide would seal it three points later to win by seven. Set Three (VCU 25, Alabama 18): After a 3-0 start to the frame for Alabama, VCU responded with a 6-1 run to pull ahead, 6-4. The Tide took a timeout four points later, trailing 9-5, and eventually spent its second down 18-12. Alabama would draw within four down the stretch, trailing 21-17, but VCU closed it out with a 4-1 run.

After a 3-0 start to the frame for Alabama, VCU responded with a 6-1 run to pull ahead, 6-4. The Tide took a timeout four points later, trailing 9-5, and eventually spent its second down 18-12. Alabama would draw within four down the stretch, trailing 21-17, but VCU closed it out with a 4-1 run. Set Four (Alabama 25, VCU 17): Holding a one-point lead early in the set, Alabama started to gain some distance with a 5-2 run, including a stretch of three-straight before VCU took a timeout with the score 11-7. With the Tide still leading by four later at 15-11, the Rams scored three in a row to force Alabama to take its first timeout with its lead trimmed to 15-14. The Tide was dominant out of the break, using a 7-2 run to move ahead 22-16 and, following a Ram timeout, closed out the frame with a 3-1 run to force a deciding fifth set.

Holding a one-point lead early in the set, Alabama started to gain some distance with a 5-2 run, including a stretch of three-straight before VCU took a timeout with the score 11-7. With the Tide still leading by four later at 15-11, the Rams scored three in a row to force Alabama to take its first timeout with its lead trimmed to 15-14. The Tide was dominant out of the break, using a 7-2 run to move ahead 22-16 and, following a Ram timeout, closed out the frame with a 3-1 run to force a deciding fifth set. Set Five (VCU 15, Alabama 12): After four tie scores early on, VCU scored consecutive points to move ahead 6-4 and Alabama took a timeout. A kill from junior Doris Carter after the break made it a one-point game but the Rams answered with four in a row to pull ahead 10-5, forcing the Tide to burn its second timeout. A kill after the break put the home team up by six and then Alabama scored three unanswered to cut the lead in half as VCU took a timeout leading 11-8. A kill from Wells off an overpass eventually drew the Tide within one, 12-11, but the Rams ended the frame with a 3-1 run to take the match.

Key to the Match

Stats between the teams were relatively even, but mistakes at the service line cost the Crimson Tide, committing 16 service errors as opposed to 11 for VCU. Six of those 16 came in the third set loss.

Up Next

Alabama wraps up its weekend against NC State (2-2) on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. CT.

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