Sept. 16, 2012
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Junior Katherine Culwell had a career-high 20 kills, but the Auburn volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (22-25, 16-25, 27-25, 18-25) decision on the road Sunday afternoon to Texas A&M before 1,216 fans at Reed Arena.
The Tigers (10-2, 1-1 SEC) were nearly even statistically in most categories with the Aggies (10-1, 2-0 SEC), but struggled in the service game. Texas A&M had eight service aces with just two errors while the Tigers did not record an ace but committed six service errors.
"There were a lot of ups and downs in the match in terms of ball control and also in our aggressiveness," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "It allowed them to make some runs. I think we've got to work to get better at being consistent throughout the match."
Culwell, a Dallas native, performed well in her second trip to her home state in as many weeks. With 20 kills on 44 attacks with seven errors, she hit .295 in the match and recorded seven kills in a pivotal third set to keep the match alive for the Tigers. The performance surpassed an 18-kill effort against South Carolina during her freshman season of 2009. Culwell also had seven digs and four blocks on the day.
Junior Camila Jersonsky also hit double digits with 10 kills and a .350 hitting percentage; she also contributed five blocks. Both Auburn setters recorded double-doubles - junior Chelsea Wintzinger had 24 assists and 12 digs, and freshman Ciara Richards posted 23 assists and 12 digs. Junior Sarah Wroblicky led the defensive effort with 21 digs, and freshman Mary Hannah Arrington, in her first extended action, posted six kills and 11 digs after entering the match in the second set. Sarah Bullock had six kills and five digs in a set and a half of action.
Texas A&M out-hit Auburn .208 to .175 but only had one more kill (58) than the Tigers (57). Auburn won the digs battle, 80-78, and had 9.5 total blocks to A&M's 6.0. The Aggies were led by Tori Mellinger and Allie Sawatsky with 12 kills each; Sawatzky added 41 assists and Mellinger had 19 digs.
Auburn struggled early in the first set as the Aggies jumped out to a 10-3 lead with some tough serving, taking the Tigers out of system. But the Tigers kept fighting, getting within a point at 17-16 before a controversial call turned a potential tie score into an 18-16 Aggie lead. A&M went on a 3-0 run to take a 22-18 lead, but Auburn once again cut the lead to one at 23-22 on a pair of kills from Bullock and Culwell, forcing an Aggie timeout. The Aggies, though, would find the floor twice more to take a 25-22 first-set win.
Texas A&M came out firing in the second set, sprinting to an 11-3 lead as Auburn committed three hitting errors and had no answer for the Aggie attack. Auburn hit just .132 in the set while the Aggies swung at a .324 clip. The Tigers cut A&M's lead to as little as six points at 21-15 but would get no closer the rest of the way. Culwell kept swinging well in the set with five kills.
An incredible comeback kept Auburn alive with a 27-25 win in set three. The Tigers had fought point-for-point with the Aggies, tying the score on 11 different occasions, but the Aggies finally pulled ahead to an 18-15 advantage. That lead eventually grew to 24-19, giving Texas A&M five attempts at match point. But the Tigers fought off five straight - across two Aggie timeouts - to tie the score at 24-24, courtesy of two kills and a block from Culwell. An Aggie error gave Auburn its first set point attempt at 25-24, but a kill from A&M tied the score once again. But Culwell's sixth kill of the set gave Auburn another chance at 26-25, and her seventh kill, one rally later, sent the match to a fourth set.
Serve-receive once again caused problems for Auburn in the fourth set as the Aggies clinched the match with a 25-18 win. A&M recorded three aces and took the Tigers out of system on several more occasions, leading to easy opportunities for the Aggies. The Aggies only had 11 kills in the final set but benefitted from eight Auburn errors. A&M never trailed in the final set, jumping out to a 15-9 lead before the Tigers clawed their way back to make it a two-point game at 16-14. From there, though, the Aggies would take advantage of two aces, a service error and three Auburn hitting errors to pull away and clinch the match.
The Tigers will open the home portion of the SEC schedule next Friday and Sunday, Sept. 21 and 23, at the Student Activities Center. Auburn welcomes South Carolina for a 7 p.m. match Friday, and archrival Alabama will visit at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free for both matches.