Oct. 19, 2012
AUBURN - Auburn got double-digit kills from three players and a season-high 87 digs, but a relentless defensive effort from LSU gave the purple and gold Tigers a 3-1 victory (22-25, 30-32, 25-22, 20-25) Friday night at the Student Activities Center.
It was the first home loss of the season for Auburn (13-7, 4-6 SEC) and it went as the 22nd consecutive win in the series for LSU (9-11, 5-6 SEC), dating back to the 2000 season.
"I thought the different in the game was defense," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "They were very scrappy and kept bringing balls back. Mentally, that took a toll on us. That's what we need to be, a scrappy defensive team, and that's what the other team showed tonight. We need to match that or beat that."
Senior Sarah Bullock led a group of three Auburn players in double-digit kills. She had 17 kills on the night but only hit .129 as she attempted a career-high 62 swings. She also contributed a career-high 24 digs, the second-most by an Auburn player in a match this season. Juniors Katherine Culwell and Camila Jersonsky had 15 kills each; Culwell added 15 digs for a double-double and Jersonsky contributed five blocks.
Junior setter Chelsea Wintzinger had her 10th double-double of the season with a 30-assist, 15-dig performance. The Tigers also recorded 10 team blocks for the second straight match, led by six from Chloe Rowand, who also had seven kills. Junior libero Sarah Wroblicky added 21 digs, her sixth 20+ dig effort of the season.
Auburn lost for the first time all season when having more kills than its opponent; the Tigers put down 62 balls while LSU had 51 kills. Auburn also had 60 assists to LSU's 46, but LSU won the stat battles in blocks (14-10), digs (92-87) and service aces (4-2). Auburn actually scored more points than LSU (74-69), but Auburn committed 10 more attacking errors and had 10 service errors in the match.
LSU also had three players in double-digit kills, led by Helen Boyle's 13. The performance of the match went to LSU libero Meghan Mannari, who posted a whopping 40 digs to pace LSU's strong defensive effort.
All four sets were fights to the finish. Auburn fought back from a seven-point deficit in the first set to tie the match at 22-all before LSU took advantage of two straight Auburn errors to eventually put the set away 25-22.
The second set was a wild affair that saw Auburn jump out to a 17-11 lead, but a 7-0 LSU run erased that advantage and led to a 32-30 LSU win. Auburn had a chance at set point at 25-24 but could not convert. However, Auburn fought off nine LSU set point attempts before LSU finally took a 2-0 lead when Auburn finished the set with a service error and an attack error.
Set three went Auburn's way as they held LSU to an .079 attack percentage on the way to a 25-22 win. Auburn won the set despite posting no blocks and five service errors; however, Auburn took a 13-10 lead midway through the set and never trailed again despite a comeback attempt by LSU. LSU then jumped out to a 5-0 lead and fought off a tough comeback attempt from Auburn in the fourth before pulling away down the stretch to a 25-20 win.
Auburn will return to the Student Activities Center floor Sunday afternoon for a 1:30 p.m. match against new SEC member Missouri. Admission is free.