Oct. 26, 2012
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Auburn volleyball team had its highest hitting percentage in an SEC match since 1998 as the Tigers swept South Carolina 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-19) Friday night at USC's Volleyball Competition Facility.
The Tigers (14-8, 5-7 SEC) earned a season sweep of the Gamecocks (15-8, 3-8) and snapped a four-match losing streak thanks in large part to a .474 hitting percentage (52 kills, 7 errors, 95 attacks), which ranks as the sixth-best in Auburn history. The mark also ranks as Auburn's best in an SEC match since Oct. 18, 1998, when Auburn hit .514 against Ole Miss.
"It started with our passing tonight," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "I thought we passed the ball pretty well. That gave us an opportunity to get all the hitters involved. Obviously, that makes it tougher to defend. We were efficient, and that's where we want to see improvement.
"We just need to go out and play hard and have fun playing. Several times in the last few weeks, we've walked out feeling like we didn't get much accomplished. We've got to play hard and be content with that, and if we do that, we've got a chance to win a lot of games."
Auburn's hitting also rates as the fifth-best by an SEC team this season and the second-best in a Southeastern Conference match. Only Kentucky's .548 mark in a win over Ole Miss ranked better.
Junior Katherine Culwell led the Auburn offense with 14 kills in the match, hitting .323 with four errors on 31 swings. She also contributed seven digs and a block to the effort. Sarah Bullock recorded her third straight double-double and her eighth of the season, putting down an error-free 12 kills on 24 attacks (.500 hitting percentage) along with 13 digs. She also had a service ace and a block assist.
Camila Jersonsky hit a sparkling .750 for the match with nine kills on 12 swings with no errors. Halle Kearney had one of her best matches of the year, recording seven kills on 11 attacks with just one error for a .545 hitting mark. And Courtney McDonald took advantage of several South Carolina overpasses to rack up six kills on nine attacks with just one error (.556).
Chelsea Wintzinger recorded a team-best 25 assists with five digs, and Ciara Richards had 20 helpers along with four digs.
South Carolina was led by Darian Dozier with 12 kills and a .400 hitting mark, and Juliette Thevenin had 10 kills.
The Tigers had 52 kills to Carolina's 39, won the digs battle 40-30, and the teams were even in blocks with five apiece. Auburn also had just three service errors in the match.
Auburn never trailed in the first set as the Tigers pulled ahead early and held on late for a 25-21 win. A 4-0 run midway through the set gave Auburn a 15-10 lead after two straight kills from Culwell, who had five in the frame, and that five-point lead would remain through most of the set. The Tigers hit .344 in the opener, which would be - shockingly - their lowest mark of the match.
That number increased to .429 as the Tigers rolled to a 25-15 second-set win. Bullock came alive in the second set with six kills on nine attacks, and she also paced the Auburn defense with seven digs. A 9-3 run would give Auburn a 20-12 lead, and the Tigers never looked back.
But the third set was the most impressive of the night as Auburn hit an astounding .679 with 20 kills and just one error en route to a 25-19 win and the second SEC road sweep of the year. Culwell contributed seven of those 20 kills, including four in a row in the midst of a 12-2 run that turned an 11-8 deficit into a 20-13 lead, all but sealing the victory for the Tigers. South Carolina managed just seven digs and one block as Auburn's offense had its way throughout the set.
Auburn will wrap up its multi-state road trip Sunday with a 1:30 p.m. match at SEC Western Division rival Ole Miss. AuburnTigers.com will have live stats and live audio, and fans can follow @AUVolleyball on Twitter for updates during the match.