Sept. 8, 2006
MOBILE, Ala. -
The Auburn University volleyball team defeated Samford, 3-1 (30-20, 27-30, 31-29, 30-14) at the Jaguar Gym on Friday, Sept. 8 in Mobile, Ala. The win improved the Tigers to 6-3 on the season, while the Bulldogs fell to 1-6.
Junior Rachel Shanks led the Tigers with 16 kills and a career-high 23 digs. Sophomore Jessica Glover added 13 kills and 13 digs, while junior Whitney Jacob chipped in 11 kills, five blocks and 11 digs. Senior Julie Bosler was solid in the middle with 10 kills and four blocks.
"I thought we were fortunate to escape with a win," head coach Laura Farina said. "Samford played us very tough and we are going to have to elevate our quality of play the rest of this weekend."
In game one, the Tigers and Bulldogs battled back-and-forth until the game was tied at 10. AU then went on a 4-0 run to gain the lead. Auburn never looked back, leading by as many as 10 and winning by the same margin, 30-20. Jacob was very impressive in the opening frame, recording four kills and a .500 hitting percentage.
Samford opened game two with a 9-3 run but the tigers closed it to 9-7. The two teams exchanged points the rest of the way and SU came away with the victory, 30-27. Shanks had six kills during the game and an impressive 11 digs.
AU jumped out to a 9-2 lead in game three, but the Panthers clawed back to tie it at 12 and took the lead on the next point. Auburn took the lead back at 16-15, but SU grabbed the lead back and held a 28-24 advantage. With the score 29-27, the Tigers scored four unanswered points and took the game, 31-29. Glover led Tiger attack with seven kills in the game.
In game four, Auburn grabbed an early 9-4 advantage before Samford cut it to 9-8. The Bulldogs would get no closer as the Tigers built up a 27-14 lead and won the game, 30-14.
The Tigers will continue play at the University of South Alabama Jaguar Challenge on Saturday, Sept. 9. Auburn will face Southeast Louisiana and South Alabama on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.