Nov. 17, 2013
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Auburn struggled offensively against a tough-blocking Texas A&M team, falling 3-0 (19-25, 26-28, 17-25) in SEC volleyball action Sunday afternoon at Reed Arena.
The Tigers (17-10, 8-7 SEC) fell for just the third time in their last 11 SEC matches and were unable to take advantage of numerous opportunities throughout the match. Texas A&M (16-10, 8-7 SEC) won their fifth-straight SEC match.
"We came out just not mentally sharp," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "They're a team that if you give them the opportunities, they're going to take advantage of them. I thought we gave them too many opportunities to stay in system, and that played in their favor."
Texas A&M out-hit the Tigers .308 to .148 as both teams had 42 kills but Auburn committed 24 attack errors to the Aggies' 10. The Aggies also contributed to that total with 13 blocks in the match.
Kathia Rud and Stephanie Campbell led the Auburn offense with nine kills each. Camila Jersonsky added eight kills, and Emily Klitzke and Katherine Culwell both had seven.
Culwell led the defensive effort with 15 digs while Sarah Wroblicky had 11 and Rud had nine. Jersonsky was Auburn's top blocker, contributing on three of four Tiger blocks on the day, and Chelsea Wintzinger provided an offensive spark with 24 assists and all three of Auburn's service aces.
Texas A&M was led by Jazzmin Babers with 10 kills and nine blocks, while Shelby Sullivan added nine kills and four blocks on the day. Setter Allie Sawatzky was one of the Aggies' top offensive weapons with 33 assists and seven kills.
Auburn couldn't get much going in the first set, hitting .143 while committing nine attack errors, while the Aggies hit .286 with just two miscues in the set. But the second-set was well-played on both sides with 17 ties and three lead changes. The Tigers opened up a three-point lead late in the set at 21-18, but an Aggie run out of a timeout tied the game at 21-21. From that point, the Aggies had set-point chances at 24-23, 25-24 and 26-25, but Auburn fought all three of them off. An controversial call at the net gave A&M another set point at 27-26, and a block of Jersonsky's swing through the middle put the Aggies ahead 2-0.
Set three was all Texas A&M. The Aggies jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they hit .345 in the set and held Auburn to .050 hitting on 10 kills and eight errors.
The Tigers will play their final two home matches of the 2013 season next weekend as Tennessee visits Auburn Arena on Friday and Ole Miss comes to town Sunday. The Ole Miss match will be Senior Day for six Auburn players - Katherine Culwell, Camila Jersonsky, Courtney McDonald, Kathia Rud, Chelsea Wintzinger and Sarah Wroblicky will all be playing in their final home match. Admission is free for all Auburn home volleyball contests.
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