Nov. 22, 2009
OXFORD, Miss. - After dropping the first set, the Auburn volleyball team fought back to defeat Ole Miss, 3-1 (18-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-23), Sunday afternoon. The Tigers improved to 16-14 overall and 8-11 in the SEC, while Ole Miss fell to 9-20 overall and 3-16 in the conference.
"It was a good comeback by the team after Friday's loss and they rebounded well," Wade Benson, head volleyball coach, said. "We did a great job fighting and put together a solid 10 in effort. Ole Miss played very well and made us fight for everything."
Freshman Sarah Bullock led the way for Auburn, finishing with 14 kills and seven digs. Junior Morgan Johns tallied 12 kills, while classmate Liz Crouch had a match-high 24 digs. Kelly Fidero added nine kills, Alyssa Davis had four blocks and Lauren Mellor finished with seven kills and three blocks.
Regina Thomas tallied 14 kills, while Whitney Craven added 10 to lead Ole Miss offensively. Morgan Springer picked up 11 digs for the Rebels.
Ole Miss opened the first set with a 6-1 run, but a kill from Mellor and a pair of Rebel errors brought Auburn within two at 6-4. The Rebels pulled ahead again to go up 10-5 and the home team held on to the lead though the middle part of the set. A kill by Bullock and another Rebel error cut the Ole Miss lead to three at 17-14, but the Rebels held on to win the set 25-18.
Kills from Mellor and Bullock and a service ace from Chanelle Clark gave Auburn a quick 3-0 lead to start set two. A service ace from Crouch and kills by Mellor and Fidero pushed the Tigers up 11-5 and, at 14-8, Auburn used a 4-0 run, highlighted by a pair of Mellor kills, to take a 10-point, 18-8 lead. A kill by Jonelle Wallace gave Auburn set-point at 24-15 and the Tigers went on to win the set 25-18.
Auburn took a 3-1 advantage at the start of the third set on a pair of kills by Bullock. A kill by Johns gave the Tigers the 10-6 lead, but the Rebels fought back and tied the set at 10 apiece. Kills from Johns and Davis triggered a 6-1 Auburn run to put the Tigers up 16-11. Ole Miss put together a run of its own to come within one at 17-16. The two squads battled for the set until, tied at 23, a Rebel service error and a kill by Fidero gave Auburn the 25-23 win.
In set four, the Rebels came out with a quick 5-0 lead and held on to the advantage through most of the set. Down 16-11, a kill by Katherine Culwell ignited an Auburn three-point run and another kill by Culwell brought the Tigers within one at 18-17. A kill from Bullock gave Auburn its first lead at 19-18, but Ole Miss used a three-point rally to take a 23-21 advantage. Kills by Fidero and Culwell tied the set at 23 apiece and a Rebel error and another kill from Fidero gave Auburn the 25-23 victory.
Auburn closes out the regular season with a 4 p.m. match with Georgia on Wednesday. The Tigers host the Bulldogs at the Student Activities Center and admission is free.