Sept. 30, 2011
AUBURN - The Auburn volleyball team gave No. 13-ranked Florida all it could handle, but the Tigers fell short in a 3-0 (24-26, 20-25, 23-25) setback to the Gators on Friday night at the Student Activities Center.
Auburn (8-7, 2-3 SEC) had leads late in the first and third sets, but could not close the deal against the physically imposing front line of Florida (10-3, 3-1 SEC).
"I think we came out with some pretty good intensity, we were really getting after them," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "But we had a little bit of a lull there toward the end of the first game and the third game. At that point, we need to be the aggressor and keep them back on their heels, but we kind of let them off the hook. They're a great team, and we came out and played hard. It's one of those that can go either way, and it went their way tonight."
Senior Kelly Fidero led Auburn with 11 kills, her fourth straight outing with double-digit kills and ninth of the season. She also hit for a .318 percentage to lead all Tigers with at least 10 attacks. Sophomore Vesela Zapryanova finished with eight kills on the night.
Junior libero MacKenzy Harper led Auburn with 11 digs, her sixth time in double figures so far this year; junior Sarah Bullock and sophomore Chelsea Wintzinger had nine and eight digs, respectively. Wintzinger also led with 27 assists, while sophomore Camila Jersonsky had four blocks.
Kristy Jaeckel had 15 kills and five blocks for the Gators, and Betsy Smith led both teams with six blocks in the match.
Auburn won the digs battle 39-31, dropping a match for just the second time this year when outdigging an opponent (7-2). Florida had 10 blocks to the Tigers' eight and outhit Auburn .269-.184.
Thanks to six kills from Fidero and four blocks in the set, the Tigers jumped out early in the first set and saw their lead swell to as much as 15-12 before the Gators called their first timeout. However, Auburn would continue to hold the lead, pushing ahead 20-17 on another Fidero kill that forced another Florida timeout. But from that point, Florida went on a 7-0 run during Cassandra Anderson's term of service, mainly thanks to four blocks in a five-rally stretch; Betsy Smith was involved in four of those to give Florida set point at 24-20. However, the Tigers would fight back with four of their own, including two kills from Fidero and another from Christina Solverson to tie the set at 24-24. But a Florida kill and an Auburn ball-handling error would give the Gators a 26-24 decision in set one. Auburn out-hit the Gators in the opening set, .214-.167.
Florida took control early in the second set and never relinquished the lead, although Auburn never let Florida put it out of reach. Auburn called its first timeout as Florida got two straight kills to make it 16-12 midway through the set. That lead would swell to 22-16 on a Florida kill and a block. A pair of Gator errors would make it a four-point game, but Florida would take a 25-20 win in the second set after two kills and an Auburn service error ended the frame. Auburn hit just .167 in the set compared to Florida's .333; Zapryanova led the Tigers with four kills.
Auburn was in control throughout nearly the whole third set, never allowing Florida to take the lead until set point. The Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead and maintained the advantage, getting kills from Courtney McDonald and Jersonsky to take a 17-14 lead and force a Gator timeout. Florida would cut the lead to one point at 19-18 and then tie the score at 20-20 before Auburn pulled back ahead on a Gator service error and a kill from Zapryanova. With the score then tied 23-23, Florida would take its first lead on a service ace that caught just millimeters of the end line, forcing a Tiger timeout at 24-23. The Gators would end matters on a kill, taking a 25-23 set three win and a 3-0 victory in the match.
Auburn will close out a four-match homestand Sunday as South Carolina visits the Student Activities Center for a 1:30 p.m. first serve. Admission is free to all Auburn home volleyball matches.
For the latest on Auburn volleyball, visit AuburnTigers.com.