Aug. 28, 2010
AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn volleyball team opened day two of the War Eagle Invitational with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-13) victory over UT Martin Saturday afternoon at the Student Activities Center.
The day's match saw a handful of new faces see playing time as freshmen Camila Jersonsky and Kathia Rud and redshirt freshman Sarah Wroblicky each got a starting nod, while freshman Chelsea Wintzinger and redshirt freshman Chloe Rowand saw action on the court as well.
"We knew it was going to be one of those matches where the young players needed to get the jitters out," head coach Wade Benson said. "As we got into the third set, the chemistry started to build. This match will turn out to be very important in future for this team."
Senior Jonelle Wallace and junior Kelly Fidero each finished with a team-best eight kills, while Wallace had a team-high three block assists. Rud recorded seven kills and eight digs and Wroblicky also had eight digs on the day. Wintzinger finished with 16 assists for the Tigers.
UT Martin's Kelly Hogan led all attackers with 11 kills and tallied 10 digs for the Skyhawks. Setter Jenna Miller finished with 20 assists, while libero Kasey Elswick had a match-high 12 digs.
The two squads opened the first set close and at four apiece, a pair of Auburn attack errors pushed the Skyhawks up 6-4. UT Martin extended its lead to 10-6, but an Auburn run highlighted by a trio of kills from Morgan Johns brought the Tigers within one at 11-10. A kill by Jersonsky and a service ace from Rud tied the set at 15and a pair of kills from Fidero gave Auburn the lead at 19-17. The Tigers took the set 25-22.
UT Martin jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead in set two, but a kills from Johns and pair of service aces from Wintzinger triggered a 9-2 run to push Auburn to an 11-9 advantage. The Tigers held on by a slim margin throughout the set until a service ace from Wallace and a kill by Fidero pushed the squad to a 25-20 win.
With the score tied at seven in the third set, a trio of kills by Rud and a service ace from Jersonsky highlighted an Auburn run that gave the Tigers a 14-9 advantage. At 16-11, Auburn pushed another long rally with the aid of two Rud services aces and two Wallace kills to win the set by a score of 25-13.
The War Eagle Invitational concludes with a 7 p.m. match that pits Auburn against Georgia Southern. All matches are held at the Student Activities Center and admission is free.