TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – In front of a raucous Foster Auditorium crowd of over 1,100, Alabama overcame a 2-1 match deficit to win the fourth and fifth sets, defeating Arkansas for the Crimson Tide's first Southeastern Conference win of the season.

Alabama (9-4, 1-1 SEC) fell in the opening set to Arkansas (6-8, 0-2 SEC), 25-20, before winning the second set by the same score to even the match at 1-1. The Razorbacks earned a narrow 25-22 victory in the third before the Tide again matched the set score, winning the fourth set by three points to force a deciding fifth frame. After two tie scores early in the fifth, Alabama began to pull away and eventually win, 15-9, to cap the comeback.

Junior Doris Carter put on an offensive showcase, knocking in a career-best 22 kills with a .375 hitting percentage. She added 11 digs for her second double-double of the season along with three blocks. Freshman Emily Janek also earned a double-double, finishing with 30 assists and 11 digs while seeing some time in the front row with five blocks. Four players finished with double-digit digs, led by junior Kaylee Thomas at 15, and freshman Alyiah Wells stuffed a season-best nine blocks.

From Head Coach Lindsey Devine

"I just told the team to stay our course and trust what we did in practice this week. We just had to be patient and things would come our way. I'm proud of the effort from the team and everything they've done this week to prep for this. In front of an amazing crowd on alumni weekend, there are so many great things that we can celebrate so to come away with a 'W' is pretty special."

Stat Leaders

Props to our fans for packing Foster! We'll see you again next Wednesday #BamaVB #RollTide pic.twitter.com/5sLM9y5Yoa — Alabama Volleyball (@AlabamaVBall) September 29, 2019

Set-by-Set

Set One (Arkansas 25, Alabama 20): Alabama fell behind early, trailing 7-3 before a 5-2 run brought the Tide within a point. With the score now 9-8, Arkansas scored three unanswered to lead 12-8 as Alabama took a timeout. The Razorbacks continued to pull away, leading by seven at the 20-point mark as the Tide spent its second timeout. Alabama would draw as close as four points down the stretch, but ultimately fell by five.

Alabama fell behind early, trailing 7-3 before a 5-2 run brought the Tide within a point. With the score now 9-8, Arkansas scored three unanswered to lead 12-8 as Alabama took a timeout. The Razorbacks continued to pull away, leading by seven at the 20-point mark as the Tide spent its second timeout. Alabama would draw as close as four points down the stretch, but ultimately fell by five. Set Two (Alabama 25, Arkansas 20): Alabama held the early momentum in set two, leading 6-1 before Arkansas stormed back to tie it at 7-7. A 5-1 run gave the Tide the lead at the halfway mark, 12-8, and the Razorbacks took their first timeout. The margin remained the same at Arkansas' second timeout, with Alabama ahead 20-16, and back-to-back points after the break capped a 4-0 Tide run to extend it to 22-16. At 23-17, Arkansas scored three in a row to draw within three and Alabama spent a timeout with its lead cut in half. A kill from Carter made it set point before a solo block from graduate transfer Eva Borrowdale capped the five-point win to even the match at 1-1.

Alabama held the early momentum in set two, leading 6-1 before Arkansas stormed back to tie it at 7-7. A 5-1 run gave the Tide the lead at the halfway mark, 12-8, and the Razorbacks took their first timeout. The margin remained the same at Arkansas' second timeout, with Alabama ahead 20-16, and back-to-back points after the break capped a 4-0 Tide run to extend it to 22-16. At 23-17, Arkansas scored three in a row to draw within three and Alabama spent a timeout with its lead cut in half. A kill from Carter made it set point before a solo block from graduate transfer capped the five-point win to even the match at 1-1. Set Three (Arkansas 25, Alabama 22): The third set was tightly contested to start, with six tie scores before Arkansas took the 15-12 lead at the media timeout. Alabama continued to claw away at the deficit, eventually tying it late at 21-21 on a service ace from redshirt junior Ashley Homan . The Razorbacks reached set point at 24-21 before a kill from Carter gave the Tide the point and possession, but a kill on the next rally ended the set with Arkansas winning by three to take a 2-1 match lead.

The third set was tightly contested to start, with six tie scores before Arkansas took the 15-12 lead at the media timeout. Alabama continued to claw away at the deficit, eventually tying it late at 21-21 on a service ace from redshirt junior . The Razorbacks reached set point at 24-21 before a kill from Carter gave the Tide the point and possession, but a kill on the next rally ended the set with Arkansas winning by three to take a 2-1 match lead. Set Four (Alabama 25, Arkansas 22): The fourth frame started similar to the second, with Alabama building an early 8-4 lead before Arkansas rallied to tie it at 9-9, forcing a Tide timeout. A kill on the next rally put the Razorbacks in front, 10-9, but the Tide answered back quickly with an 8-3 run to pull back ahead, 17-13, before the Razorbacks were forced to take a timeout. Arkansas' second timeout came later trailing by five at 21-16 and they started to close the gap, eventually drawing within one down 22-21. A kill and a solo block from Homan gave the Tide set point, 24-21, and another kill from her two points later ended it at 25-22 to force a fifth set.

The fourth frame started similar to the second, with Alabama building an early 8-4 lead before Arkansas rallied to tie it at 9-9, forcing a Tide timeout. A kill on the next rally put the Razorbacks in front, 10-9, but the Tide answered back quickly with an 8-3 run to pull back ahead, 17-13, before the Razorbacks were forced to take a timeout. Arkansas' second timeout came later trailing by five at 21-16 and they started to close the gap, eventually drawing within one down 22-21. A kill and a solo block from Homan gave the Tide set point, 24-21, and another kill from her two points later ended it at 25-22 to force a fifth set. Set Five (Alabama 15, Arkansas 9): Alabama scored four unanswered to start he fifth set and, following an Arkansas timeout, the Razorbacks answered right back to tie it at 4-4. The score was tied again soon after at 5-5 before a kill from Wells ultimately gave Alabama the lead for good, outscoring Arkansas 10-4 down the stretch to win, 15-9, and complete the comeback.

Keys to the Match

Alabama's net defense continued to be a team strength, with the Tide posting a season-best 19 blocks as opposed to just six from Arkansas. Eight different Alabama players finished with at least one block

The Tide hit .259 as a team, its third-highest mark of the season, and had a sideout percentage above 60 percent in four of the five sets including a match-best 66 percent in the fifth

What does a Sunday SEC win in Foster Auditorium feel like? #BamaVB #RollTide pic.twitter.com/AbvDxVI4xF — Alabama Volleyball (@AlabamaVBall) September 29, 2019

Player of the Match

Junior Doris Carter carried the load on offense, finishing the match with a career-high 22 kills along with 11 digs for her second double-double of the season.

Up Next

Alabama is back on the road Wednesday, Oct. 2 traveling to face Auburn (6-7, 0-2 SEC) on the SEC Network at 7 p.m. CT.

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