Nov. 8, 2009
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Auburn volleyball traveled to No.9 Florida on Sunday afternoon and dropped a 3-0 match (15-25, 18-25, 13-25) to fall to 14-12 overall and 6-9 in the SEC. The win gave the Gators a 20-3 overall record and a 14-2 SEC mark.
"We played with more emotion this match than we have in awhile and the scores do not reflect the level of emotion we had," Wade Benson, head volleyball coach, said. "We played with energy and if we continue that energy through the rest of the season, I'm confident we'll pick up a couple more wins and reach our goal of finishing second in the SEC West."
Sophomore Kelly Fidero picked up nine kills and two service aces on the day, while freshman Sarah Bullock finished with eight kills and eight digs for Auburn. Junior libero Liz Crouch added seven digs and classmate Sara Shanks had 16 assists.
Colleen Ward led the Gators with 12 kills and Kristy Jaeckel finished with 10 kills for Florida. Elyse Cusack had a match-high 14 digs and Kelly Murphy recorded 30 assists.
Auburn grabbed a quick 4-2 lead in the first set on kills from Lauren Mellor and Katherine Culwell, but a pair of Tiger hitting errors tied the match at four apiece. A three-point Gator run pushed the home team ahead at 9-6 and another run gave Florida a 15-9 advantage. The Gators held their lead through the rest of the set, winning 25-15.
A Bullock ace and kills from Fidero triggered a 4-1 lead for the Tigers in the opening of the second set, while a Mellor kill and a pair of aces from Fidero pushed Auburn up 7-2. A 9-3 Gator run gave Florida its first lead at 12-11, but kills from Alyssa Davis put Auburn up 13-12. The squads battled for points until a six-point Florida rally drove the Gators to a 25-18 win.
With the third set tied at four, the Gators used a three-point run to take the 7-4 early lead. Florida continued to push, taking a six-point lead at 12-6. The Gators went on to take the match with a 25-13.
Auburn returns to the Student Activities Center for two SEC matches next weekend. The Tigers take on Tennessee at 4 p.m. on Nov. 13 and then host No. 11 Kentucky at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 15.