Nov. 9, 2008
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Auburn struck first, but No. 12 Florida bounced back to win the final three sets as the Tiger volleyball team (6-21, 1-15 SEC) fell to the Gators (20-2, 14-1 SEC) in four sets (25-18, 23-25, 14-25, 21-25) Sunday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Auburn senior Jessica Glover led the way for Auburn with a match-high 18 kills, posting a .351 attack percentage in the loss. With her 10th kill of the match, Glover moved into Auburn's top-10 career kills list. She finished the match with 1,070 career kills, a mark that ranks her in a tie for ninth all-time on the Plains.
The match marked the second in a row where Auburn won the first set, but dropped the next three. Head coach Wade Benson said it is a product of the team's age, but something they are working on.
"We played hard, gained a lot of respect, but did not win the match," said Benson. "That is one area where our youth really hurts us, we have got to learn to close out the sets to put us in a position to close out a match."
The Tigers hung with the Gators is almost every statistical category. AU hit .217 in the match, compared to a .246 hitting percentage from Florida. Auburn had only four fewer kills and half of a block less than UF while out-digging the 12th-ranked Gators by 10.
"We were very close in every category with a team that is in the top 15 team in the country, and that is pretty good for a 1-15 team on the road," said Benson. "We played very hard, very effective, but we have got to learn how to win."
Seven different Tigers picked up kills in the match, led by Glover's 18. Freshman Kelly Fidero followed with eight while Jonelle Wallace came off the bench for six.
Sophomore libero Liz Crouch led the defensive effort with 19 digs while setter Sara Shanks picked up a double-double with 12 digs and 30 assists. Fidero led the blocking effort with three, followed by Glover and freshman Jyoti Ruffin with two each.
Auburn used a 10-1 run in the first set to take a seven-point lead at the 16-9 point. The Tigers would ride out the lead for the 25-18 victory in the set. The teams stayed neck-and-neck in the second set, playing to a 23-23 tie. But a Glover error followed by a Florida kill sealed up the 25-23 Gator victory to even up the match.
Florida rode the momentum into the third set, storming out to a 15-9 lead. Auburn would cut the lead to four, but the Gators scored 10 of the last 13 points to take the 25-14 win. The Tigers bounced back in the fourth and final set, trailing by just one at the 22-21 mark, but three straight Tiger errors resulted in a 25-21 set win for Florida and the 3-1 match victory.
Setter Kelly Murphy led Florida in the match, coming one dig away from a triple-double. She posted 13 kills and 22 assists along with nine digs in the win. Kristy Jaeckel also picked up 13 kills off the bench while Kelsey Bowers led the blocking attack with six. Elyse Cusack led the defensive effort, along with Murphy, with nine digs.
Auburn continues its two-week road swing this week, traveling to LSU and Georgia. Action in the weekend series is set to begin at 7 p.m. CT, Friday against the Tigers in Baton Rouge, La.