Mississippi State
Alabama
'Bama Turns Back Bulldogs 3-1
October 24, 2007 | Volleyball
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Crystal Hudson and Bridget Fuetez combined for 35 of Alabama's 73 kills Wednesday night to power SEC West-leading Alabama (13-9, 9-3 SEC) to a 3-1 SEC volleyball win over Mississippi State (9-13, 4-9 SEC).
Senior setter Eva Kriegel led MSU with 13 kills and Ioana Demian added 12 to lead the Bulldogs, who stayed in contention with a strong 14-ace serving performance. But the State was unable to contain the Alabama attack, which also got a 12-kill effort from Brooks Webster and 11 more from Brigitte Slack. The Tide led 73-54 in kills and held a .329 to .222 advantage in attack percentage.
State held its own against the Tide in the early going of the opening set. An ace by Bulldog freshman Kayla Woodard tied the game at 8-8. But Alabama scored four of the next five points and Brigitte Slack nailed three kills during a 7-2 Alabama spree. The Tide built the lead out to nine points at 27-18 before the Bulldogs, on the serving of Megan Lukasek, reeled off four straight points to close the gap to 28-22.
Following an Alabama timeout, UA got two kills and a block to close out the set at 30-22. Ioana Demian came off the bench to lead MSU with five of its 12 kills.
The Bulldogs raced to a 7-2 lead and after a 5-1 run led Alabama in game two 16-11. But the Crimson Tide parlayed an ace and four blocks into a 7-0 run and a momentum-grabbing 18-16 advantage. MSU managed to take a 22-21 lead on a Tide service error, but Bama out-pointed State 9-7 down the stretch and took a 2-0 match lead at the break with a 30-27 win. Eva Kriegel and Jamie Joyner had four kills each to lead the Bulldogs in the second set.
In the third set, the Bulldogs' SEC-leading serving help power State to a 9-2 advantage. Lukasek served up two aces and Jamie Joyner and Kayla Woodard added one each. After an Alabama surge, the Bulldogs built their lead back out to seven at 20-13 on a kill by Eva Kriegel. State then successfully fended off several UA charges down the stretch to register a 30-26 win. Demian's team-leading fourth kill of the stanza was the game-winner though MSU's seven aces proved to be the deciding factor.
MSU fell behind 5-2 to open the deciding fourth set but managed to stay in contention for much of the final stanza. State took its first lead of the match at 23-22 on an ace by Kriegel, who later combined with Erin Seago for a block that broke a 28-28 deadlock and put MSU at the serving line at game point. But Fuentez delivered three straight kills to spoil the Bulldogs' upset plans and lifting Alabama to a 31-29 match-clinching win.
MSU got a career-best 22 digs from Cristina Jucan. Jucan, MSU's kills leader for the season, was held to nine kills on the night. Megan Lukasek reached double figures with 17 digs. Jamie Joyner backed a nine-kill effort with a team-best four-block showing at the net. Eva Kriegel, with 13 kills and 29 assists, barely missed her fourth "triple-double" of the year, finishing with nine digs.
The Bulldogs continue SEC Western Division competition on the road this weekend, traveling to Fayetteville, Ark., for a 1:30 p.m. Sunday match against the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks (10-12, 4-8 SEC).
