Nov. 12, 2006
AUBURN, Ala. -
The Auburn University volleyball team fell to Ole Miss, 3-2 (29-31, 30-22, 22-30, 30-23, 18-6) on Senior Day at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. The loss gives Mississippi the series sweep for the season. With the loss, AU drops to 13-16 overall and 5-13 in the SEC, while Ole Miss improves to 17-12 overall and 8-10 in the conference.
Junior Rachel Shanks led the Tigers with 21 kills and 18 digs for her 18th double-double of the season and 10th-straight match with 10-plus kills. Sophomore Jessica Glover collected her 15th double-double with 16 kills and 17 digs, while junior Whitney Jacob chipped in 12 kills, eight digs and five blocks. Playing in their final home match, seniors Julie Bosler and Dalia Naidzinaviciute totaled 10 and 7 kills, respectively.
"We played sloppy in games two and four and that can catch up with you," head coach Laura Farina said. "We attacked well in game three, but our blocking was bad today. I wish we could have finished our senior's careers off with a win."
Auburn found itself down 11-6 in the opening game, but worked its way back to tie the stanza at 12. The team's traded points until AU took a 27-23 lead, but Ole Miss would even it back up at 28. A Rebel service error allowed the Tigers to go up by one and a Glover kill finished off the game for the Tigers, 31-29.
The two squads exchanged leads in game two until Ole Miss took a 13-12 advantage. The lead stretched to five before Auburn got back to within three. The Rebels then closed the game out on a 6-1 run to finish off the 30-22 win.
Coming out of intermission, the Tigers caught fire. Tied at six, AU went on a 9-2 run to open up the game, 15-8. AU managed to hold the lead, stretching it to as many as nine, and eventually taking a 30-22 win of its own. AU hit .389 in the third frame, registering 17 kills.
Up 2-1, Auburn had a chance to close out the Rebels in game four. Ole Miss took a 9-8 lead and maintained it the rest of the way. The Tigers kept the game close, trailing by just two-to-three points most of the way, but the Rebels pulled away late and took a 30-23 win in the fourth.
Tied at five in the fifth, AU scored the next two points and held an 8-6 lead at the change-over. Ole Miss worked the game back to even and held match-point (14-13), but a Rebel error evened the stanza. Ole Miss held three more match-points before Jaclyn Toohey buried one of her 28 kills to give the Rebels the 18-16 victory.
The Tigers will hit the road for its final two matches of the 2006 season. Auburn will take on Kentucky at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, Nov. 17 in Lexington, then head to Knoxville to take on Tennessee at 12:30 p.m. CT on Sunday.