Oct. 10, 2008
AUBURN - Jessica Glover tallied a season-high 22 kills, hitting a blazing .415, but it was not enough as the Auburn volleyball team (5-13, 0-7 SEC) fell to Georgia (10-9, 3-5 SEC) Friday night in a 3-2 (25-21, 20-25, 21-25, 25-22, 10-15) decision at the Student Activities Center.
Auburn posted a .165 attack percentage, topping the .161 from Georgia, and picked up six more digs than the Bulldogs in the loss. It marked just the second time this season for the Tigers to lose when out-hitting their opponent.
"We're playing well and getting better all the time," said head coach Wade Benson. "We are very young, so we 'are going to make mistakes, but I was really impressed with the way we came through in set four when we were down late. We are doing some nice things and overall, I am happy with the process of our continuous improvement."
Playing in front of a mostly-full Student Activities Center crowd, Benson was thrilled with the fan support and happy to be playing at home for the first time in two weeks.
"The crowd was late and supportive and we need them to continue coming out and supporting us because we keep getting better," said Benson. "The future is still very bright and I am happy with the team's improvement."
Auburn spread out the offensive attack with nine different Tigers recording at least one kill in the match. Freshman Kelly Fidero and sophomore Milena Bukinac followed Glover's 22 kills with seven each while Olympia Haney, Lauren Mellor and Alyssa Davis trailed with five each.
On the defensive end, sophomore libero Liz Crouch, out of the lineup the past two weeks recovering from an injury, did not miss a beat as she posted a season-high 20 digs in the match. Glover and Mellor led the Auburn blocking attack with four blocks each.
Maria Taylor led UGA in the match with 21 kills, hitting .266. Erika Clark and Lindsay Gehan followed with 13 kills each. Libero Carla Tietz led the team's defensive effort with 17 digs while Valentina Gonzalez picked up six blocks.
Auburn scored first and led throughout most of the first set, finishing with a 25-21 win. The Tigers rolled the momentum over into the second set, leading as late as the 16-15 mark, but a 5-1 Bulldog run put Auburn in a hole it would not get out of as UGA went on to the 25-20 win, evening the match.
Auburn again took control early in the third set, leading again at the 16-15 point, but a 6-2 UGA run ended in a 25-21 win, putting the Tigers in a 2-1 hole. AU responded in the fourth set with a comeback of its own. After trailing by as many as four points, Auburn went on a 5-1 run, taking the lead for good at the 21-20 mark en route to the 25-22 win.
Georgia jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead in the fifth and final set, holding off another Tiger comeback for the 15-10 set and match win.
After holding the lead late in so many sets, Benson said that closing them out will definitely be a point of emphasis with the team.
"Instead of waiting late in the game to finish, we need to focus on each and every point," said Benson. "I still think we are just not taking care of the ball and the critical moments. We are working through it and finishing will come, we just need to do the little things in practice."
Auburn returns to action Sunday against LSU (8-6, 3-4 SEC). The match is set for a 1:30 p.m. start at Auburn's Student Activities Center.