Oct. 8, 2010
OXFORD, Miss. - The Auburn volleyball team dropped a three-set, 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19), match to Ole Miss Friday night at the Gillom Sports Center in Oxford. Senior libero Liz Crouch finished the match with 15 digs and surpassed former Tiger Gretchen Thompson to break the Auburn career digs mark.
The loss put Auburn at 14-6 overall and 5-3 in the SEC, while Ole Miss improved to 11-5 and 5-2 in the league.
"I'm very proud of Liz (Crouch) and this is a well-deserved achievement for her," head coach Wade Benson said. "We wish it would have come in better match for us. The team had a short turnaround following Wednesday night's match against Georgia, but will grow and learn from this."
Entering the match, Crouch needed 13 digs to pass Thompson, who set the record in 1989. At the conclusion of the evening, Crouch now has 264 digs on the season and has 1,498 in her career.
"This is a really great honor and I have to credit my team for helping me reach this milestone," Crouch said. "It was a personal goal of mine, but I'm more focused on our team goals of winning the SEC West and making the NCAA tournament. I hope I can continue to contribute to those goals."
Sophomore Sarah Bullock led the Tigers with 11 kills and finished with seven digs. Junior Kelly Fidero had eight kills and sophomore Katherine Culwell had seven kills. Setters Christina Solverson and Chelsea Wintzinger finished with 17 and 15 assists, respectively.
Allegra Wells led the Rebels with 11 kills and two blocks, while Whitney Craven had 10 kills and 11 digs. Setter Amanda Philpot finished with 29 assists and libero Morgan Springer finished with 10 digs.
Auburn took a quick 3-1 lead at the start of the first set and pushed to go up at 7-5. The Rebels fought to tie the set at eight apiece and with the set locked at 11, Ole Miss rattled off a three-point run to take a 14-11 advantage. The Rebels went up by as much as four at 22-18, but a kill by Bullock and a pair of service aces from Crouch brought the Tigers within one at 22-21. Ole Miss held on, however, to win the set 25-22.
The two teams battled early in the second set before the Rebels utilized a four-point run to go up 7-3. Ole Miss held on to its three-point lead until a kill by Culwell and a Rebel error brought the Tigers within a point at 12-11. Another kill by Culwell tied the set at 16, but Ole Miss closed out the set on a 3-1 run to take the 25-22 win.
Ole Miss opened set three on a 6-0 run until a kill by Vesela Zapryanova ended the Rebel rally. The Rebels held on to their commanding lead throughout most of the set. A kill by Camila Jersonsky brought Auburn within five at 15-10, the Rebels finished out the match with a 25-19 win.
The Tigers continue on the road as the team travels to Gainesville, Fla., on Oct. 15 for a 3 p.m. CST match against the No. 2 Florida Gators. 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.