Nov. 18, 2011
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Junior Brittney Rhude and sophomore Chloe Rowand posted career-highs in kills, but the Auburn volleyball team fell short on the road to South Carolina by a 3-1 score (17-25, 19-25, 25-20, 28-30) on Friday night at the Volleyball Competition Facility.
Auburn (10-18, 4-14 SEC) dropped its fourth straight match while South Carolina (13-15, 4-14 SEC) won on its Senior Night, defeating the Tigers for the first time since 2009.
"We've got to learn that you can't afford to spot a team two games," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "Your margin for error at that point is so small. Games three and four, we played with a lot more energy and were competing, but South Carolina made some plays at the end."
Rhude shattered her previous best with a 17-kill performance in which she hit .424. Her previous high was nine kills against Florida A&M on Sept. 10 of this year. Rowand, meanwhile, had 12 kills and just one error while hitting a team-best .550; her previous best was nine kills against Alabama on Oct. 30.
Sophomore Kathia Rud also equaled her career-best, finishing with 16 kills and a .344 attack percentage; it was her third time this season with a 16-kill performance. Sarah Bullock and MacKenzy Harper led the Tigers with 16 digs apiece, while Chelsea Wintzinger recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 30 assists and 11 digs.
Auburn fell for the first time all year when out-hitting its opponent, swinging at a .292 clip compared to South Carolina's .268. It was also the Tigers' highest hitting percentage in a losing effort this season. Auburn had 67 kills to the Gamecocks' 54, out-dug South Carolina 74-69, and had just two fewer blocks than the opponent. But issues in the service game proved to be the difference. South Carolina had five service aces to Auburn's four, and the Tigers committed 13 service errors compared to the Gamecocks' five.
Juliette Thevenin led South Carolina with 19 kills and 15 digs while Teresa Stenlund added 10 kills. Taylor Bruns had a double-double with 42 assists and 10 digs, and Paige Wheeler led all defenders with 18 digs.
The service game was the difference in the first set as Auburn committed five service errors and South Carolina recorded three service aces. The Tigers actually out-hit the Gamecocks .265 to .250 and had one more dig than their opponent, but they could not overcome issues on serve and serve-receive. The score was tied six times with Auburn leading once at 4-3. The Tigers pulled within a point at 17-16, but Carolina ended the set on a 8-1 run to take a 25-17 first-set win.
Set two saw more of the same as the Gamecocks recorded two more service aces and the Tigers had three service errors, leading Carolina to a 25-19 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. Auburn had 14 kills in the set but hit just .171 with seven errors. While the Gamecocks led the whole set, the pivotal point came at 19-17 when the Gamecocks made two incredible saves and forced a hitting error that made for a two-point swing, giving South Carolina a 20-17 lead and forcing an Auburn timeout. From there, Carolina would record three more kills and an ace while Auburn could not fight its way back.
Auburn made major lineup changes in the third set, and the moves paid off as the Tigers earned a 25-20 win. The score went back-and-forth for a while before Auburn finally grabbed the lead at 15-14 on a controversial call. A Carolina error made it 16-14, and the Gamecocks called their first timeout. From there, Rowand would record kills on three of the next four plays - she had five in the set - and Auburn took a 19-16 lead. Carolina would pull within a point at 20-19, but Auburn would close the set on a 5-1 run to prevent the sweep. It was the first set all season in which Fidero did not play.
The fourth set was an epic affair with eight ties and four lead changes that saw each team fight off numerous set point attempts, but South Carolina was able to outlast the Tigers for a 30-28 win to claim the match. Auburn led early, but the Gamecocks pulled ahead 11-8 after a pair of Tiger errors, forcing an Auburn timeout. The Gamecocks would eventually pull out to a 20-16 lead, later moving ahead 24-22 with two opportunities at match point, but kills from Rud and Zaprynova tied things up at 24-24. Another kill from Rud fought off Carolina's third match point attempt, and the Tigers got two attempts at set point at 27-26 and 28-27. Both times, though, Carolina was able to stay alive. Another kill from Rowand fought off another Gamecock set point attempt to make it 28-28. But back-to-back kills from Thevenin and Cara Howley gave South Carolina the win.
The Tigers will play their final road contest of 2011 Sunday afternoon as they travel to Gainesville, Fla., to face the 17th-ranked Florida Gators. First serve is set for 12:30 p.m. CT with the match scheduled to be televised by Sun Sports.