Sep 6, 2013
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AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn's volleyball team got back on the winning track Friday afternoon with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 25-14) sweep of Mercer at the Student Activities Center to open day two of the Active Ankle Challenge.
The Tigers (5-1) put together an all-around solid offensive and defensive effort, dominating the Bears (1-5) in all statistical categories. Auburn hit .450 as a team (42 kills, 6 errors, 80 digs), which ranks as the 11th-best single-match hitting percentage in program history.
"I thought we did a much better job of organizing our defense," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "Yesterday (against Green Bay), I thought we were chasing the whole way, both on the block and in the backcourt. Today I thought we were much better in terms of that organization, being able to play some simple defense behind a solid block."
Senior Kathia Rud picked up her second double-double in as many matches with a 15-kill, 11-dig performance while hitting .522 on the day, leading the team in all three categories. Fellow senior Katherine Culwell posted 12 kills and fell just short of her own double-double, picking up nine digs.
"We went to both our outside hitters quite a bit," Nold said, "probably more than what we really want to. We want to balance that offense a little bit. But they both did a great job. They were going against a double-block most of the time, but they took advantage of their opportunities."
Freshman Emily Klitzke, making her first career start, had six kills and three blocks, and senior Camila Jersonsky was the team's leading blocker with five. Senior Chelsea Wintzinger led the way with 19 assists, and libero Sarah Wroblicky had 10 digs.
Auburn had 42 kills to Mercer's 28, 39 digs to the Bears' 25, and eight blocks while Mercer had none. The Tigers also held the Bears to a .153 hitting percentage. Auburn also recorded six service aces with two each from Wintzinger and Stephanie Campbell.
Molly Locke led Mercer with 10 kills, and Carly Iannarino had 25 assists.
All three sets saw Auburn make big runs midway through the game to take insurmountable leads. In the first set, Auburn put together a 7-0 run to extend an early lead to 14-4, and Mercer would get no closer than six points the rest of the way as Auburn won it 25-16. Six kills from Rud and five from Culwell led the way as the Tigers hit .441 in the set with 17 kills and just two errors.
Set two was more of the same as Auburn went on a 15-2 run to sprint to a 25-10 win and a two-set lead in the match. Mercer was held to an .034 hitting percentage in set two as the Tigers held the Bears to six kills and forced five errors, three coming on Auburn blocks. The service game was key as well - Auburn had four aces in the set while Mercer was the victim of five service errors.
Auburn put the match away with a 25-14 win in set three that saw the Tigers hit .571 with 14 kills and two errors on just 21 swings. Rud had six more kills in the set, and the Tigers racked up four more blocks as a 10-2 run midway through put the match out of reach.
The Tigers will be back on the floor at the Student Activities Center at 7 p.m. tonight as they face Troy in the final match of the Active Ankle Challenge. Admission is free, and fans can bring their favorite tailgate dishes for a chance to win a $100 gift card to the AU Team Shop.