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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The Auburn volleyball team made it a clean sweep of the opening weekend of play with a 3-0 win (25-13, 25-15, 25-23) over SIU Edwardsville on Sunday at the Vadalabene Center.
The Tigers (4-0) finished off a stretch of four matches in three days in which they only dropped one set, that coming in a 3-1 win over No. 10 Nebraska. It was the first meeting between Auburn and SIUE (0-3).
"I thought we came out pretty solid and consistent in games one and two," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "In the third game, we got a little frustrated and let things get away from us a little bit. SIUE was a scrappy team, and now we've got to take some areas where we know we need improvement and put some time into them.
"This was a tough weekend against really good competition. We probably expected a little bit of a drop here today after three tough matches Friday and Saturday. But for us to come out 4-0, feel good about where we are and see the things we need to work on, it's a perfect situation for us."
Auburn was strong with its block and its service game, racking up seven aces and nine blocks as a team. The seven aces were more than the Tigers had in any three-set match in 2012, and the nine blocks were the most so far this season.
Sophomores Mary Hannah Arrington and Alyssa Ivey had two aces apiece, and Sarah Wroblicky, Kathia Rud and Chelsea Wintzinger had one each.
Katherine Culwell and Camila Jersonsky led the Tigers' block with four apiece, and freshman Kia Bright had three blocks, including two solo stuffs. Culwell led the Auburn offense as well with 10 kills while Bright had seven and Jersonsky and Rud had six apiece.
Chelsea Wintzinger had a team-high 14 assists, and Ivey added 12. Wroblicky was the team leader in digs with 12.
Auburn took advantage of numerous SIUE mistakes, holding the Cougars to a .010 hitting percentage; however, the Tigers also showed signs of fatigue offensively, hitting a season-low .140. Despite that, Auburn led every statistical category.
The Tigers pulled ahead early in the first set and never looked back en route to a 25-13 win. SIUE got as close as two points at 9-7, but from there a 10-2 Auburn run put it out of reach as SIUE had six kills and nine errors, hitting minus-.111 in the opening set. Culwell and Rud had three kills apiece in the opening set.
The second set was more of the same. After Auburn pulled ahead early, SIUE once again got back within two at 11-9, but a 4-0 run gave Auburn a six-point lead that would eventually end in a 25-15 win. The Tigers got back-to-back service aces from Arrington and another later from Wroblicky in the midst of a 8-1 run from 15-11 to 23-12.
SIUE refused to fold in the third set despite an 10-0 Auburn run during Stephanie Campbell's term of service. The Tigers went from a 9-7 deficit to a 17-9 lead, but SIUE fought back to get within three at 21-18. Auburn then had five chances at match point at 24-19, only to see SIUE fight off four of those to close the gap to 24-23 before a service error ended it.
The Tigers will open the home portion of the 2013 season on Thursday and Friday with the Active Ankle Challenge. Auburn will play host to six matches over two days with Green Bay, Mercer and Troy competing in the tournament. Matches will take place at noon, 5 and 7 p.m. both days, and admission is free to all matches at the Student Activities Center.