Oct. 5, 2011
ATHENS, Ga. - Junior Sarah Bullock had a season-high 17 kills and 20 digs, but Auburn's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision (25-19, 22-25, 19-25, 19-25) to the Georgia Bulldogs on Wednesday night at the Ramsey Student Center.
Auburn (9-8, 3-4 SEC) had a match go past three sets for the first time since Sept. 3 at Middle Tennessee; it was the Tigers' first loss in a four- or five-setter this season (now 3-1). Georgia (7-10, 3-4) snapped a two-match losing streak to the Tigers and prevented Auburn from winning three in a row in the series for the first time since 1998-99.
"I thought going into it, serving and passing would be the key," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "We weren't as aggressive as we've been lately. Defensively, Georgia really got after it and that was the difference in the game."
Bullock had her best match of the season, picking up her fourth double-double of the year with a 17-kill, 20-dig performance; she had reached double digits in both categories before the halfway point of the second set. Both numbers were season highs for any Auburn player, and her digs total fell one short of a career-high. She also had a pair of service aces.
"I thought she had a really good all-around game," Nold said. "She got on a roll serving in the first set, we went to her quite a bit and she did a great job with the ball."
Senior Kelly Fidero had 13 kills for the Tigers, hitting double digits for the sixth straight match. Sophomore Chelsea Wintzinger had a career-high 40 assists along with seven digs and four kills, and junior MacKenzy Harper and sophomore Sarah Wroblicky split time at the libero position, each recording 13 digs.
Auburn hit just .181 in the match, falling to 1-8 on the season when falling below the .200 mark; Georgia finished with a .222 percentage. Four Bulldogs had double-digit kills, led by Brittany Northcutt's 14.
Georgia totaled 75 digs in the match, the most by any Auburn opponent this season, while the Tigers had 69. It was also Auburn's first loss of the season when winning the first set.
The first set saw Auburn lead most of the way en route to a 25-19 win, but Georgia never let the Tigers get out of its sights until the very end. Auburn jumped out to a 10-6 lead after a big block from Jersonsky and Wintzinger, but issues in the service game by both teams would eventually tie the score at 14-14. The Tigers would then go on a 5-2 run, punctuated by a tremendous service ace from Bullock, to take a 19-16 lead and force a Bulldog timeout. Auburn would then score three more in a row on kills from Bullock and Fidero and a block from Jersonsky to take a 22-16 lead before Georgia finally broke the run. Bullock led the way with six kills on nine attacks with no errors (.667) in the opening set.
Set two was similar to the first early on as Auburn kept up the pressure, but Georgia would not go quietly. Auburn jumped out to an 8-4 lead, but Georgia would close to within a point at 13-12 before the Tigers then extended their lead to 17-14. But the Bulldogs would go on a 5-1 run and take their first lead of the match at 19-18 on a service ace. With the score tied 20-20, Georgia would make numerous outstanding defensive plays and eventually have its first set point opportunity at 24-20. A setter dump from Wintzinger and an error by the Bulldogs made it 24-22, forcing a Georgia timeout. But a kill from ... gave Georgia the second set and tied the match at one game apiece.
Georgia came out of the gate on fire in the third set, going on a 5-0 run to take an 8-3 lead and force an Auburn timeout. From that point, the Bulldog lead would never be less than four points as they stormed to a 25-19 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Auburn hit just .125 in the set and had four service errors; however, Georgia wasn't much better at .150.
Auburn and Georgia traded leads throughout the fourth set with the Bulldogs finally gaining the upper hand for good at 20-18. A kill from Jersonsky brought Auburn back within a point, but the Bulldogs would roll off five straight to close out the match.
The Tigers will have Friday night off before hitting the road again for more Southeastern Conference action on Sunday. Auburn will face Mississippi State at the Newell-Grissom Building in Starkville, Miss., at 1 p.m. Sunday. The match will be televised by Cox Sports, which is available mostly throughout the states of Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana.