Oct. 15, 2010
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Auburn volleyball team faced top-ranked Florida Friday afternoon and fell 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-22) to the Gators at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville. The loss drops the Tigers to 14-7 overall and 5-4 in the SEC.
"We tried a couple lineups today and gave a couple of people some playing time," head coach Wade Benson said. "It was a good learning match for what we might see again down the road. This match shows where some of our weaknesses are and what we need to work on in the future."
Junior Kelly Fidero led Auburn with eight kills and a career-best seven digs. Freshman setter Chelsea Wintzinger recorded her second double-double of the season, finishing with 14 assists and 11 digs. Senior Jonelle Wallace had six kills and redshirt freshman Sarah Wroblicky tallied eight digs.
Kelly Murphy led Florida (15-1, 8-0 SEC) and recorded 15 kills, 13 assists and 12 digs. Kristy Jaeckel had nine kills and libero Erin Flemming finished with a match-high 13 digs.
The Gators jumped out to a quick 5-2 advantage at the start of the first set, but the Tigers brought the score within two at 7-9 on a pair of Auburn blocks. At 10-8 in favor of Florida, the Gators pushed an 8-2 run to take an 18-11 lead and went on to take the set, 25-16.
In set two, the Gators opened with a 2-0 lead, but a service ace by Fidero and a pair of Florida errors gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead. Florida, however, utilized a 5-1 rally to go up 7-4. Kills by Sarah Bullock and Fidero and a Gator error brought the Tigers within two at 11-9, but Florida battled to win the second set, 25-17.
The Tigers took a 3-1 lead to start the third set and a Gator error gave Auburn a 4-2 advantage. A kill by Fidero put Auburn up at 5-4, but a four-point Florida rally gave the home team an 8-5 lead. With Florida facing match point at 24-19, a kill by Fidero, a Gator error and a solo block by Bullock made the score 24-22, but Florida solidified the win with a 25-22 set-three victory.
Auburn closes out the weekend in Columbia, S.C., with a 12:30 p.m. CST match on Oct. 17 against the South Carolina Gamecocks.