Sept. 5, 2008
MACON, Ga. - Jonelle Wallace was near perfect with 14 kills on 18 attempts with only one error Friday morning as the Auburn volleyball team beat Bethune-Cookman, 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-16) in the first match of the Mercer Bear Brawl. The win gives first-year head coach Wade Benson his first victory as Auburn's head coach.
"It feels great, it is always nice to put one in the `W' column," said Benson on his first victory. "We are trying to improve everyday, win or lose, so it's not really our focus. The bottom line is did we play better and that is what we are looking for."
Auburn improves to 1-4 on the season while Bethune-Cookman falls to 0-4. The Tigers return to action later today with a 4 p.m. CT match against Presbyterian (0-3).
Wallace, a sophomore transfer from Colorado State, led the Tigers to victory with her 14 kills and .722 attack percentage, a mark that ranks her fifth all-time at Auburn. She was nearly error-free in the match as it was not until the 21-14 point in the third set that she picked up her only error.
Following behind Wallace were a pair of freshmen as Olympia Haney tallied 11 kills, followed by Kelly Fidero with nine. Fidero also finished with a .500 hitting percentage in the match.
The newcomer trio led the Tigers to an impressive .315 attack percentage in the match as Auburn never had more than six attack errors in a set. Benson pointed out that limiting errors was an area of focus for the team.
"One goal for us was limiting our errors," said Benson. "We did that in this match, but still did not reach our goal. It was more of them, than us. We were able to keep the ball on them, which we had not done yet this season and that is a good thing"
Defensively, sophomore libero Liz Crouch and Haney led Auburn with seven digs each while Wallace chipped in another six digs.
For Bethune-Cookman, Danielle Goodman and Chelle Ticeson led the team with five kills each. Ticeson was error-free, finishing with a .455 attack percentage.
After exchanging points in the first set, Auburn stormed out on a 7-4 run to build an 11-6 lead. The Tigers kept that steady pace throughout the rest of the opening set for a 25-16 win. The victory was Auburn's first in an opening set this season.
Wallace led Auburn with five of the team's 15 kills in the set. As a team, the Tigers hit .357, limiting Bethune-Cookman to .087 in the set.
The Tigers came right back in the second set, hitting a blazing .379 with 16 kills and five errors. Auburn again took the lead right out of the gate with a 5-1 lead to open the set, but the Wildcats would come back to cut it to three. The Tigers pulled away again, leading by as many as seven while cruising to the 25-20 victory.
Wallace again led Auburn, this time with six kills in the set. Her two-set total gave her an error-free 11 kills on 12 attempts for a .917 attack percentage.
Auburn continued rolling in the final set, racking up a quick 11-6 lead before eventually winning the set and match, 25-16.
Haney led Auburn with five kills in the set while Wallace followed with three. Wallace also picked up her first and only attack error of the match in the final set.