OXFORD, Miss. – Alabama volleyball fell in five sets to Ole Miss Friday on the road, taking a 2-0 match lead before the Rebels rallied to win the next three and take the match.

Alabama (10-11, 2-9 SEC) fought back from an early Ole Miss (11-11, 3-8 SEC) deficit in the opening set, eventually scoring four in a row to tie it up at 20-20. The Crimson Tide knotted up the score twice more before taking a late lead at 23-22, forcing a Rebel timeout. Ole Miss tied it at 23-23 but Alabama answered with back-to-back points to win, 25-23.

The Rebels jumped ahead to an early lead in the second until a 7-0 run from the Tide swung the score from 14-10 to 17-14 in Alabama’s favor. With the Tide still leading by three later at 22-19, the home team scored three in a row to tie it up at 22-22 and force an Alabama timeout. The two teams battled past the 25-point mark in another close set, with the Tide ultimately coming out on top, 28-26, on a challenge reversal to take a 2-0 match lead.

Looking to keep the match alive and avoid the sweep, Ole Miss came out hot in the third and rode that momentum to a 25-17 win to send the match to a fourth set. After an early timeout by the Rebels in the fourth trailing 4-1, the home team quickly pulled ahead at 7-6 and remained in front the rest of the way to earn a 25-19 win and send the match to a fifth set.

The Rebels scored five unanswered to start the fifth set and led 8-2 when the teams swapped sides at the halfway mark. Ole Miss took their first timeout after Alabama drew within two points at 9-7 and spend their second soon after when it was a one-point game at 11-10. The Rebels came out of the break and scored four in a row however to close out the set at 15-10 and complete the comeback to win the match, 3-2.

NOTES

• The match was Alabama’s third five-set match of the season, previously defeating Wake Forest on Sept. 10 in Tuscaloosa and falling to Georgia in Athens on Oct. 17
• Kaleigh Palmer finished the match with a team-leading kills, extending her streak to five straight matches with double-digit kills
• Victoria Barrett earned her seventh double-double of the season with 12 kills and 12 digs
• Freshman Ryelle Rondo had a career high 13 digs

STAT LEADERS

SET-BY-SET SCORES

• Set 1: Alabama 25, Ole Miss 23
• Set 2: Alabama 28, Ole Miss 26
• Set 3: Ole Miss 25, Alabama 17
• Set 4: Ole Miss 25, Alabama 19
• Set 5: Ole Miss 15, Alabama 10

UP NEXT

• Wednesday, Nov. 5 at Arkansas – Fayetteville, Ark. – 6 p.m. CT – SEC Network
• Friday, Nov. 7 at Oklahoma – Norman, Okla. – 7 p.m. CT