Oct. 22, 2006
AUBURN, Ala. -
The Auburn University volleyball team fell to South Carolina, 3-2 (28-30, 30-25, 28-30, 30-22, 15-10) on Sunday at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. The Gamecocks swept the season series from the Tigers, 2-0 with a pair of five game wins. With the loss, AU falls to 12-11 overall and 4-8 in the SEC, while South Carolina improves to 12-11 overall and 5-7 in the conference.
Junior Rachel Shanks led the Tigers with 17 kills while adding 17 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. Two other players recorded double-doubles as sophomore Jessica Glover totaled a career-high 21 digs to go with 13 kills, and junior Whitney Jacob had 16 kills and 13 digs. Junior Jelena Sekulic had 15 kills and eight digs and hit .483 for the match.
"The team fought hard, our execution just fell apart," head coach Laura Farina said. "I am still very excited about where this season is heading."
In game one, the Tigers held an early lead until USC tied it back up at 10. After battling back and forth, AU took a 24-21 lead, only to see it evaporate again as the Gamecocks tied it up and held a 28-26 lead of their own. AU fought back with a pair of kills by Glover and took game one, 30-28.
Auburn fell behind early in game two (8-3), but cut the lead to one (12-11) before a 4-0 run gave Carolina a five point lead. Auburn closed the gap to two, but USC pulled away for the 30-25 win in game two.
Auburn and USC traded points early in game three, until the Tigers went on a 5-1 run to take a four point lead. The Gamecocks tied the game at 11 and the teams exchanged blows the rest of the way. With AU up 29-26, USC recorded back-to-back points before a kill by Jacob ended the game in favor of the Tigers.
South Carolina came out firing in game four, and took a 14-5 lead. Auburn would never recover and dropped the fourth stanza, 30-22.
Auburn had a brief lead in game five after kills by Sekulic and Shanks, but the Gamecocks scored five unanswered points to take a 9-6 lead. AU cut the lead to one, but USC pulled away and won the final game, 15-10.
Auburn will wrap up its five-match homestand with a showdown against No. 7 Florida on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at the Student Activites Center. It will be "Pack The Act" Night and the first 250 fans will receive a free "Pack The Act" t-shirt.