Nov. 13, 2011
AUBURN - Senior Kelly Fidero had a match-high 14 kills, but the Auburn volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (21-25, 16-25, 20-25) decision to Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon at the Student Activities Center.
Mississippi State (11-16, 6-12 SEC) snapped an eight-match losing streak with the win while the Tigers (10-17, 4-13 SEC) dropped their third in a row.
Auburn errors made the difference in the match. The Tigers committed 26 hitting errors - 14 of them results of MSU blocks - and had 12 service errors while the Bulldogs erred on serve just once. MSU hit a sparkling .373 for the match while Auburn finished at a .173 clip.
Fidero's 14 kills marked her 19th double-digit effort in 27 matches this season, giving her 318 for the year and 962 in her career. She needs 38 kills over her final three matches (12.7/match) to become the 13th member of Auburn's career 1,000-kill club. Fidero also contributed on all three of Auburn's blocks, sharing two of them with Chloe Rowand.
Sarah Bullock contributed nine kills while Kathia Rud had eight. Chelsea Wintzinger led Auburn with 22 assists while Christina Solverson had 17, and Sarah Wroblicky led the Tigers with nine digs.
Mississippi State was led by Caitlin Rance with 10 kills while Chanelle Baker and Lainey Wyman had eight apiece.
The Bulldogs hit an outstanding .462 in the first set (15 kills, three errors) to earn a 25-21 win. Auburn was not much worse at a .324 clip, but the Tigers were unable to defend the Bulldog attack with just six digs in the opening frame. Auburn also committed four service errors. MSU jumped out to a 12-8 lead, and Auburn would climb no closer than three points the rest of the way, despite six kills from Fidero in the set.
Auburn jumped out to a 3-0 lead in set two, but it would be all State from that point on as the Bulldogs took a 25-16 win. MSU went on a 12-4 run and kept pouring it on as Auburn would pull within four points after two straight service aces from Wroblicky. But the Tigers would amass 13 hitting errors - seven of them on MSU blocks - and hit minus-.030 in the set while the Bulldogs hit .381 with just one error.
In the third set, Auburn fought back from a 16-11 deficit to get within a point at 17-16, but Mississippi State would score the next five straight points to take a 22-17 lead and go on to win 25-20. Auburn had 16 kills in the set but also eight errors along with five service errors.
The Tigers will hit the road for the final time in 2011 with a two-match swing through the SEC East next weekend. Auburn plays at South Carolina on Friday, Nov. 18, then travels to 19th-ranked Florida on Sunday, Nov. 20.