Sept. 10, 2011
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The Auburn volleyball team fell in its first match of the season against a nationally ranked opponent, dropping a 3-0 decision (19-25, 16-25, 16-25) to the 18th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday morning in the team's second match of the Hurricane Invitational, which is taking place at the University of Miami.
Auburn (5-4) dropped its third straight match - all coming against teams that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament - while Oklahoma (9-1) won for the fifth time in a row.
Camila Jersonsky led Auburn with seven kills, while Vesela Zapryanova had six and Chloe Rowand and Kelly Fidero finished with five apiece. Rowand also had four blocks on the day, and Zapryanova had a team-leading eight digs.
The Sooners had 43 kills to the Tigers' 35, while Oklahoma had just nine attack errors in the match compared to Auburn's 21. Four of those nine Oklahoma errors came courtesy of Auburn blocks. Oklahoma also won the digs battle 49-40 and hit .347 for the match compared to Auburn's .124.
Oklahoma took the first set 25-19 as Auburn hit just .088 to the Sooners' .324. The first few points went back and forth, but the Sooners jumped out to a 10-5 lead to prompt a Tiger timeout. From there, Oklahoma's lead would continue to grow as it pulled out to a 21-14 advantage and eventually had set point at 24-16. Auburn fought off three potential game-winners, but not a fourth as the Sooners took a 1-0 lead in the match. Bullock had three kills and four digs in the set, while Rowand was involved in three blocks.
The second set was more of the same as the Sooners took a 25-16 decision, despite five kills on seven attacks for Rowand. Auburn had 13 kills in the set, just two fewer than Oklahoma, but the Tigers were hampered by eight attack errors to the Sooners' one.
Auburn jumped out to an early lead in the third set, but a 12-1 run by Oklahoma proved to be the difference as the Sooners earned the sweep with a 25-16 win. Courtney McDonald had four kills for the Tigers in the set, while Zapryanova had two kills and four digs. However, four of Auburn's six service errors for the match came in set three.
The Tigers will play their final non-conference match of the season later today as they face Florida A&M. First serve is set for 3 p.m. CT at the James L. Knight Sports Complex.