TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Behind some strong play on the block and at the service line, Alabama battled to a four-set victory over Memphis Thursday night at Foster Auditorium.

Alabama (8-1) posted a dominant 25-8 victory in the opening frame over Memphis (7-4) before a more competitive 25-19 win in the second put the Crimson Tide up 2-0. The Tigers avoided the sweep with a set three win in extra points at 27-25 and the Tide put it away in the fourth with a close 25-23 win.

Hannah Parant finished with 10 of the team’s 13 aces, which is tied for the third-highest total in Crimson Tide history and the most in a match since Jennifer Miller finished with 11 against Louisiana Tech on Oct. 5, 1990. Alabama’s 14.0 team blocks are a season high, led by a career-best eight from Sarah Stevens.

FROM HEAD COACH RASHINDA REED

“I love getting a win, but there are certain things that we just need to get over the hump with. We need to play at a high level from start to finish. There are times where we could have executed better, we made some errors and gave up a lot of points. It’s my job as a head coach to be pushing for more, but we had some bright spots. Hannah [Parant] had a really nice game, I thought it was one of the best blocking matches of the season so far. Offensively we were hitting at a good percentage but we need to manage some of the unforced errors on our side of the net.”

NOTES

• Hannah Parant’s 10 aces are the third-highest total in program history and the most in a match since Jennifer Miller scored 11 vs. Louisiana Tech on Oct. 5, 1990
• Alabama had a season-best 14 blocks and tied its season high with 13 aces
• Sarah Stevens led the team with a career-best eight blocks
• Parant now has four double-doubles in the last six matches, finishing with 10 aces and 38 assists vs. Memphis

STAT LEADERS

SET-BY-SET SCORES

• Set 1: Alabama 25, Memphis 8
• Set 2: Alabama 25, Memphis 19
• Set 3: Memphis 27, Alabama 25
• Set 4: Alabama 25, Memphis 23

UP NEXT: CRIMSON CLASSIC (TUSCALOOSA, ALA.)

• Saturday, Sept. 20 vs. UCF – 5 p.m. CT