Sept. 28, 2008
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Auburn volleyball team (5-10, 0-4 SEC) had to come from behind to force a fifth set, but fell short in the end as Mississippi State (5-9, 1-2 SEC) picked up the 3-2 (25-14, 25-18, 19-25, 18-25, 15-13) win.
The loss was the third for Auburn in a fifth set this season as the Tigers also dropped five-set decisions to Jacksonville State and Arkansas, both also in come-from-behind efforts.
"All the losses are tough, this one again being real tough," said head coach Wade Benson. "Not coming out prepared to play was disappointment. We came back and lost it on our own unforced errors, something that has been part of the program here at Auburn that we are trying to change."
The Tigers dropped the first two sets of the match, failing to make it to 20 points in both. The Tigers rebounded for 25-19, 25-18 wins of their own in the third and fourth sets, respectively, to force a fifth set.
The teams were tied as late as 13-13 in the fifth set, but unforced errors in the end, including a Mississippi State ace, sealed the win for the Bulldogs.
"Obviously we are still working on changing some of these problems, players making plays instead of not making plays," said Benson. "At least we did not fold in three and gave ourselves a chance to do something, just not there yet."
Senior Jessica Glover led the team with 15 kills and a .324 attack percentage. She was also second on the team with eight digs while chipping in two blocks. Defensively, Milena Bukinac led the team with 16 digs while Alyssa Davis came up with seven of the team's season-high 13 blocks.
Ioana Demian led Mississippi State with 22 kills while libero Kayla Woodard posted 14 digs. Ashley Newsome added 13 kills and five blocks for MSU in the win.
Auburn continues its road swing Oct. 3 and 5 as the Tigers travel to Tennessee and Kentucky. Action against the Lady Vols is set to begin at 6 p.m., Friday while the UK match will start at 12:30 p.m., Sunday.
Mississippi State came out on fire in the first set, scoring six points before Auburn could make it on the board. The Bulldogs held the Tigers to just six kills in the opening set as they took a 25-14 win. Jessica Glover had four of the six kills for Auburn while Milena Bukinac came up with four digs.
Auburn came out with a quick run of its own in the second set, building a 10-5 lead, but the Bulldogs came back to take the lead at the 18-17 mark, cruising to a 25-18 win. Glover had three of Auburn's seven kills in the set while Emily Knuth tallied three digs.
MSU struck first in the third set, but Auburn came back and took the lead at the 3-2 mark , never trailing again en route to a 25-19 win. AU led by as many as eight at the 17-9 mark, but the Bulldogs were able to chip it away to the final six-point margin.
The Tigers hit .350 in the set with seven kills; Glover, Bukinac and Alyssa Davis all had two each. Auburn also had three blocks in the set as Davis and Olympia Haney combined for two each. The third was a solo block from freshman Kelly Brugger.
Auburn took the lead out of the gate in the fourth set, building a 5-0 lead before MSU got on the board. The Tigers built it to as many as eight at the 22-14 mark before taking the 25-18 win. Freshman Jyoti Ruffin led Auburn with three kills and two blocks in the set while Bukinac posted six digs.
The Tigers took the early lead in the fifth set, 3-1, but MSU came back and the teams traded control of the match with seven ties and five lead changes. With the score tied at 13-13, the Bulldogs were able to capitalize off an ace and a block for the 15-13 win.
Glover had four kills for Auburn in the final set while Davis tallied three blocks.