TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama won a hard-fought exhibition match over South Alabama in five sets Saturday afternoon in Foster Auditorium.

The Crimson Tide took a 2-0 match lead with 25-22 and 25-13 victories in the first two sets before the Jaguars evened the match with 21-25 and 20-25 decisions in the third and fourth, respectively. Tied at 9-9 in the deciding fifth set, Alabama closed out the match with a 6-2 run to win, 15-11.

Eighteen players saw court time in the exhibition match, with redshirt junior Ashley Homan posting a team-leading 14 kills. Freshman Alyiah Wells was also in double digits, tallying 11 while adding a team-leading three solo blocks and two block assists. Junior Kaylee Thomas led the back-row defense with 15 digs.

From Head Coach Lindsey Devine

"The crowd was so behind us. To look up and see the stands filled is exactly what being part of Alabama athletics is all about. You have the best fans in the nation here."

Stat Leaders

Congratulations to @CoachLDevine and @AlabamaVBall for today's exhibition win over the University of South Alabama. #RollTide



Crimson Tide Photos by student photographer Jake Arthur. pic.twitter.com/TEBpFCcIoM — Crimson Tide Photos (@CrmsnTidePhotos) August 24, 2019

Set-by-Set

Set One (Alabama 25, South Alabama 22): Alabama's largest lead of the set was two points, until momentum swung back South Alabama's way with a 4-2 run putting the visitors ahead 15-13 at the media timeout. A 3-1 run after the break forced the Tide to take a timeout trailing 18-14 before responding with a 5-1 run to tie it at 19-19. Alabama continued its momentum to close out the set with a 6-1 run.

Set Two (Alabama 25, South Alabama 13): The momentum carried into the start of set two, with the Tide opening with four unanswered points. South Alabama would draw within one but the Tide would lead the rest of the way, up 15-11 at the media timeout before shutting the door with a 10-2 run, including seven-straight to finish the frame.

Set Three (South Alabama 25, Alabama 21): The Jaguars took the first lead of the frame but the Tide quickly rallied back to pull ahead 7-6. The lead was short-lived as a 6-1 run put South Alabama in front 12-8. Alabama drew within one, down 14-13, but the Jaguars kept their lead for the remainder of the set, eventually winning by four.

Set Four (South Alabama 25, Alabama 20): Tied at 12-12 halfway through the set, South Alabama took a big lead with nine unanswered points to move ahead 21-12. Later with the score 23-14, Alabama made a late push to draw within four at 24-20 but South Alabama scored a kill to win the set by five and force a fifth frame.

Set Five (Alabama 15, South Alabama 11): Neither team held a lead larger than one point until, tied at 10-10, back-to-back points put Alabama ahead 12-10 as South Alabama took a timeout. A Tide blocking error after the break made it a one-point game, but a pair of kills from Perinar and a block from Wells and Neelon sealed the four-point set victory and the match.

Key to the Match

Tied 9-9 in the deciding fifth set, Alabama took a timeout and then closed out the match with a 6-2 run that included a pair of kills from both sophomore Erin Curl and junior Ginger Perinar and a block from Wells and junior Meghan Neelon for the final point.

Player of the Match

Freshman Alyiah Wells made a stellar debut in her first match wearing crimson and white, hitting .500 with 11 kills on 20 swings and just one error. Defensively, she added three solo blocks and two block assists.

Up Next

Alabama opens its regular season with three matches at the UB Invite in Buffalo, N.Y. The Tide faces Marist and Buffalo on Friday, Aug. 30 at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., respectively, before finishing on Saturday, Aug. 31 against Colgate at 9 a.m.

For the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaVball on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Volleyball on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.