Sept. 19, 2008
AUBURN - The Auburn volleyball team (5-7, 0-1 SEC) could see a SEC-opening victory ahead of them, but ended up watching as Arkansas (4-7, 1-0 SEC) rallied in the final two sets to take a 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-8) win over the Tigers Friday at the Student Activities Center.
The Razorbacks picked up the win despite being out-hit-, out-dug and out-blocked by Auburn in the match. Auburn had 61 kills to Arkansas' 57 and won the dig battle, 62-52. The Tigers also posted nine blocks in the match, compared to eight from the Razorbacks.
"I am not happy with the way we played," said head coach Wade Benson. "We played better than they did; we had more blocks and more kills, which should have equaled a win, but somehow we lost. We lost focus mentally and that is what ultimately lost us the match."
The Tigers also lost despite the efforts of senior Jessica Glover as she led the team with 21 kills, 16 digs and six blocks. All three of her totals were match-highs while her .421 attack percentage was the third-best of her career.
Auburn spread out the offense as nine different Tigers tallied a kill in the match. Lauren Mellor was second behind Glover with nine kills, followed by Jonelle Wallace, Chanelle Clark and Milena Bukinac with seven each.
Two other Auburn players finished with double-digit digs behind Glover. Libero Liz Crouch tallied 14 while setter Sara Shanks posted 12 along with her 51 assists.
Heather Royal led Arkansas in the match with 17 kills, followed by Christina Lawrence with 16 and Kelli Stipanovich with 13. Libero Phoebe Bautista led the team's defensive effort with 15 digs while Yun Tang tallied four blocks.
Auburn took a 3-0 lead out of the gate in the first set, but Arkansas came back to take the lead at the 9-8 point for the rest of the set en route to the 25-22 win.
The Tigers bounced right back in the second set, hitting .615 while cruising to a 25-19 win, evening the score at 1-1. Glover had six kills in the set for Auburn
Auburn kept on rolling in the third set, taking a 6-2 lead from the start before finishing off the Razorbacks, 25-17. Wallace had six kills in the set for the Tigers.
Arkansas fought back in the fourth set, but Auburn was able to maintain its lead throughout the first half. Leading 16-13, the Tigers watched as Arkansas went on an 8-2 run to take a 21-18 lead. The Tigers battled back into the set, but the Razorbacks were able to hold on for the 25-23 win.
The Razorback momentum continued in the fifth set with Arkansas building a quick 11-4 lead. Auburn went point-for-point in the remainder of the set, unable to cut into the Arkansas lead and an eventual 15-8 loss.
"I wish we would have started our SEC schedule off better, but we're going to have to turn it around on Sunday versus Ole Miss," said Benson. "We did some good things, we just weren't mentally prepared tonight. We need to do better."
Auburn closes out the weekend at 1:30 p.m., Sunday against Ole Miss (4-5) in the Student Activities Center. Admission to the match is free and fans are encouraged to bring out canned food for SEC Yes We CAN Food Drive.
For those that cannot make it out to the match, fans can follow all the action live with GameTracker and a video Webcast on www.AuburnTigers.com.