Nov. 7, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Jessica Glover posted a match-high 16 kills, chipping in two service aces along the way, but it was not enough as the Auburn volleyball team (6-20, 1-14 SEC) fell 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 19-25, 19-25) to South Carolina (19-6, 10-5 SEC) Friday at the USC Volleyball Competition Facility.
Eight different Tigers picked up at least one kill in the loss, led by Glover's 16. Freshman Kelly Fidero followed with 13 kills while sophomore Lauren Mellor added seven kills and four blocks.
Auburn got off to a good start in the match, building a six point lead and standing only two points away from the win at the 23-17 point. But, the Gamecocks rattled off seven-straight points to take a 24-23 lead before eventually pulling out the 26-24 win.
"Losing that first set was really tough," said Auburn head coach Wade Benson. "We were right there, but they were able to make some things happen and force some errors on us that were pretty key."
Belita Salters stepped up for USC in the stretch, accounting for five of the seven points as she racked up three kills and two blocks. She went on to finish the match with 12 kills and seven blocks.
Despite the loss, Auburn bounced back in the second set to take the 25-22 win. The Tigers were able to stifle the USC offense, limiting the home team to nine kills and a .103 attack percentage in the set.
"I was really proud of our team in that second set," said Benson. "When you lose one like we did in the first set, it is really easy to get down on yourselves, but we did not back down from them."
Coming out of the break in the third set, Auburn and South Carolina stayed neck-and-neck, but a key five-point run in the middle of the set gave USC a 16-13 lead and put Auburn in a hole it would not recover from in the 25-19 loss.
The Gamecocks pulled out a similar run early in the fourth and final set, going on a 9-1 run for a 10-4 lead. The Tigers would not recover from the six-point deficit, eventually falling 25-19 in the set.
Ivana Kujundzic led South Carolina in the match with 13 kills, hitting .321. Defensively, Dinelia Concepcion led the Gamecocks with 14 digs.
Auburn's Sara Shanks picked up the only double-double of the match, picking up 13 digs along with her 34 assists off the bench. Liz Crouch and Jonelle Wallace also posted double-digit digs for Auburn, tallying 11 and 10, respectively.
"This was a tough loss for us because this was one we thought we had a chance of winning," said Benson. "But, we can't stay on this too long. We have the best team in the conference ahead of us, a team we matched up well against last time, so we have to get ready for that."
Auburn continues its four-match road swing Sunday as the Tigers travel to Gainesville, Fla., for a Sunday match at No. 12 Florida. Action is set to begin at 12:30 p.m. CT at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Fans can follow all the action live with GameTracker at AuburnTigers.com.