Nov. 6, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Auburn volleyball squad dropped a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-21) match at South Carolina on Friday evening. The Tigers fell to 14-11 overall and 6-8 in conference play, while the Gamecocks improved to 13-11 and 5-10 in the SEC.
"It is a disappointing loss for us and it's hard to win when only a couple of people are playing up to par," Wade Benson, head volleyball coach, said. "Not having everyone in the game really hurt us and this loss is going to hurt for awhile."
Junior Jonelle Wallace had a season-best nine kills on the night, while classmate Morgan Johns finished with eight kills. Libero Liz Crouch had a match-high 19 digs and freshman Sarah Bullock tallied 12 digs for Auburn.
Megan Laughlin and Brandi Byers led South Carolina with 10 kills each. Libero Sarah Cline had 16 digs and Ivana Kujundzic added 10 digs.
The two squads battled through the set one and with the set tied at five, the Gamecocks used a two-point run to take the 7-5 advantage. Down two at 11-9, Auburn pushed a 4-0 rally to take its first lead at 13-11. The Tigers grabbed their largest lead at 19-14, but the Gamecocks fought back, going on an 11-3 run to win the set 25-22.
South Carolina jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead and held the slim advantage through the first parts of the second set. A 6-2 Auburn run tied the set at 12 apiece and the squads exchanged points up to the 16-16 mark. The Gamecocks put together a three-point run to go up 19-16, but the Tigers fought back with a run of their own to take the 20-19 lead. The teams battled until the end, seeing South Carolina come out on top with a 25-23 win.
Set three saw the Gamecocks grab an early 8-4 advantage and push to take the 11-6 lead. A pair of Wallace kills cut the lead to two at 12-10 and a kill from Katherine Culwell brought Auburn within one at 15-14. South Carolina rallied to take another big lead at 20-16 and went on to win match 25-21.
The Tigers continue their SEC road swing, traveling to Gainesville, Fla., to take of the No. 9/11 Gators. The match is set for 1:30 p.m. CT and will be televised by SportsSouth.