Nov. 24, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. - The Auburn volleyball team recorded its 20th win of the season Wednesday night after tallying a 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-27, 15-4) win over the Georgia Bulldogs at the Ramsey Center. The Tigers improved to 20-12 on the season and concluded SEC competition with an 11-9 mark. The 20 wins mark the first time since 1998 that Auburn has reached that milestone.
"I'm very proud with the fight the team showed by winning the final three matches on the road," head coach Wade Benson said. "We appreciate everything that Auburn has done for us this season and the team has shown it belongs with the nation's elite in the postseason. We're excited for the chance of making the NCAA tournament and hope we've done what it takes to reach our goal."
Senior Jonelle Wallace put together a career performance as the Denver, Colo., product finished with a career-tying 16 kills and hit a scorching .667 for the Tigers. Sophomore Sarah Bullock tallied her tenth double-double of the season, finishing with a match-best 19 kills and 13 digs. Senior Morgan Johns added 16 kills, while freshman Camila Jersonsky and junior Kelly Fidero had nine and eight kills, respectively.
Junior Christina Solverson recorded her third double-double of the season as she tallied 30 assists and 13 digs. Freshman setter Chelsea Wintzinger had a season-best 31 assists in the win. Senior Liz Crouch finished with a match-high 22 digs and classmate Lauren Mellor logged four block assists on the evening.
Georgia concluded its season with a 15-17 overall mark and was 6-14 in the conference. The Bulldogs were led by Valentina Gonzalez and Ann Dylla, who finished with 15 kills each. Setter Kathleen Gates had 56 assists and 12 digs, while Kathleen Luft had 12 kills and 14 digs.
Down 3-1 at the start of the first set, the Tigers came back with the help of kills by Johns and Bullock to lock the score at four apiece. At 7-7, the Bulldogs pushed a three-point rally to take a 10-7 advantage, but a kill from Jersonsky and a pair of kills by Johns tied the set at 10. Auburn took the lead at 16-15 on a service ace from Fidero, but Georgia utilized a final 9-3 run to take the set 25-19.
With the second set tied at 4-4, a kill by Wallace and a Georgia attack error gave Auburn a two-point advantage at 6-4. The Bulldogs came back to set the score at nine apiece, but a 3-0 run pushed the Tigers to a 12-9 lead. Georgia, however, used a six-point rally to gain its first lead of the set at 17-14. The two squads battled to at 19-19 tie and Auburn outscored Georgia 6-3 in the final push to win 25-22.
At 7-5 Georgia in the third set, a pair of kills from Wallace and another by Bullock put Auburn up at 8-7. A four-point Tiger run pushed Auburn to a 16-13 lead, but the Bulldogs fought back to lock the set at 18 apiece. The Tigers, however, closed the set with a 7-1 run to win 25-19. The final run was highlighted by a pair of kills and a block assist from Wallace.
Auburn opened the fourth set on a 6-2 run and held on to its lead throughout the early parts of the set. At 11-8 Auburn, the Tigers pushed another 6-2 rally to jump out to a 17-10 advantage. Georgia fought to come within two at 17-15 and then battled to lock the set at 24 apiece. The squads rallied back and forth, but the Bulldogs pressed to win the set 27-25.
A kill by Jersonsky led to a 5-1 lead for Auburn at the start of the fifth set and a kill by Fidero gave the Tigers a 6-3 advantage. A kill by Wallace set the score at 7-4 Auburn and the Tigers pushed a final eight-point run to win the set 15-4.
The Tigers look to become the first team in Auburn history to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament draw will be aired live on ESPNU between 2-2:30 p.m. CT Sunday.