Aug. 30, 2008
AUBURN - The Auburn volleyball team fell to 0-2 on the season Saturday as the Tigers lost to Mercer, 3-1 (25-27, 18-25, 25-22, 19-25), in the second game of the War Eagle Invitational. Mercer improves to 1-1 on the season with the win.
Both teams return to action later today. Auburn will take on New Orleans at 4 p.m., followed by Mercer and Samford at 7 p.m. All matches are in Auburn's Student Activities Center.
Three Tigers hit in double figures, but a .142 team hitting percentage gave the Bears the advantage in the match. Freshman Olympia Haney and junior Emily Knuth contributed 12 kills each for Auburn as sophomore Alyssa Davis rounded out the trio with 11. Knuth became the first Tiger of the season to earn a double-double as she earned the first of her career with 12 kills and 13 digs.
Davis was the most efficient attacker on the Auburn squad, tallying 11 kills on 18 attempts with only four errors for a .389 attack percentage.
Defensively, sophomore Liz Crouch led all player with 19 digs in the match while Haney chipped in three blocks.
For Mercer, it was Rachel Urbelis leading the team with 12 kills and 11 digs, followed by Karen Dorris and her 11-kill, 16-dig performance.
Sophomore Sara Shanks and freshman Christina Solverson split setting duties for Auburn in the match. Shanks started the match and finished with 15 assists, but it was Solverson that took over late and finished the match with 32.
For more information on the War Eagle Invitational, check out the tournament Web page at http://auburntigers.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/08-war-eagle-invite.html.