Oct. 1, 2014
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AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn volleyball team claimed its first win in SEC play this season with a 3-1 victory (25-18, 25-16, 23-25, 25-11) over Georgia at Auburn Arena on Wednesday night.
The Tigers (9-7, 1-2 SEC) picked up their fourth straight home win over Georgia (8-6, 0-2 SEC) and rebounded after a 0-2 start to league play. Auburn's strong serving kept the Bulldogs out of rhythm offensively for much of the match as the Tigers finished with eight services aces and also collected 13 blocks against the Bulldogs.
"I felt like our serving kept them out of system through parts of the match," head coach Rick Nold said. "This week we simplified our gameplan and our girls responded by playing well. Credit Georgia for battling back in the third set, but we're extremely happy to pick up this win on our home floor."
Courtney Crable finished with a match-high 11 kills and tied her career-best with four service aces. With the strong performance at the service line, the freshman moved into a tie for sixth in single-season history with 21 aces.
Auburn continued to find success outside as Macy Reece added 10 kills, while Emily Klitzke posted nine kills for the Tigers. Breanna Barksdale finished with eight kills and hit .429 in the victory. Stephanie Campbell chipped in seven kills and a service ace for the Tigers.
Alexa Filley notched her eighth double-double of the season with 34 assists and 23 digs. The freshman continued to fill up the box score, recording five kills on 10 swings along with two blocks and pair of service aces.
Kelly Stewart logged a season-best 19 digs to lead the way, while Mary Hannah Arrington finished with 10. Barksdale led the Tigers' strong blocking effort up front tying a career-high with eight blocks including a pair of solo rejections. Reece also set a season-best with four blocks in the four-set victory.
Down 17-15 in the opening set, Auburn roared back with a 10-1 run to close out the opening stanza. The Tigers picked up three service aces in the first set to fuel their run as Barksdale finished off the frame with a pair of kills.
Auburn finished with 13 kills in the second set and hit .233 to take a 2-0 lead in the locker room. Campbell posted four kills, while Crable dished out four aces in the frame for the Tigers.
After Georgia rallied to take the third set, Auburn battled back to finish off the match with a strong final frame offensively. The Tigers hit a match-best .375 with 14 kills to close out the match as Klitzke led the way with six of her nine kills in the frame.
The Tigers held Georgia to a .000 hitting percentage, posting 34 kills and 34 errors, while Auburn finished with 50 kills in the match and hit .183. Auburn also moved to 8-0 this season when the Tigers win the opening set.
Auburn returns to action on Sunday when the Tigers host the South Carolina Gamecocks at 1:30 p.m. Admission is free all home volleyball matches at Auburn Arena.
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