Aug. 29, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn volleyball team improved to 3-0 on the season as it topped Alabama A&M Saturday in the Student Activities Center on day two of the War Eagle Invitational. The Tigers won the invitational title, having never lost a set.
Auburn closed out the tournament with the sweep over Alabama A&M (25-17, 25-12, 25-9).
"I thought it was a great start for this team," Wade Benson, head volleyball coach, said. "Our upperclassmen played solid and our freshmen were pretty sound. We played a great tournament, but the team needs to keep it all in perspective and continue to improve.
"We're not looking for wins and losses, but for execution. Wins will come with execution."
The Tigers finished the tournament hitting .410 and held their opponents to just a .068 attack percentage.
Freshman Katherine Culwell was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while juniors Lauren Mellor and Morgan Johns received all-tournament honors.
"I'm really happy for this team because we wanted to come out and make a name for ourselves," Culwell said. "We all did our jobs this weekend of getting off to a good season."
Making the all-tournament team from UAB was Andrea Lalic and Sam Serley. Representing Alabama A&M was Clarissa Moore and Rose Corneille.
A kill from freshman Courtney McDonald gave Auburn its biggest lead in the early parts of set one, going up 8-4. The Tigers kept the lead throughout the set and a pair of kills from Fidero locked the win for Auburn, who went on to win 25-17.
The Tigers went on a 7-2 run to open the second set, highlighted by three kills from freshman Sarah Bullock. Another big run late in the set helped Auburn sail to a 25-12 victory, seeing Bullock finish with seven kills in the set.
Auburn began set three on an 11-2 run and never looked back, finishing the match with a 25-9 win.
Johns tallied a match-high 12 kills in the win with a .600 attack percentage. Culwell added 10 kills, while Solverson finished with 30 assists and junior libero Liz Crouch had 18 digs.
Auburn returns to the court Wednesday, Sept. 2., when it hosts Troy. The match is set for 7 p.m. at the Student Activities Center.