Nov. 16, 2014
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COLUMBIA, S.C. - Alexa Filley broke the single-season record for assists and Courtney Crable collected a career-high 20 kills as Auburn volleyball outlasted South Carolina, 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 24-26, 15-9) Sunday at the Carolina Volleyball Center.
Down 4-3 in the fifth and final set, Auburn (12-15, 4-10 SEC) used an 8-0 run on Filley's serve to take the lead for good to earn the victory. The Tigers hit .350 in the deciding frame with 10 kills to pick up their third five-set victory of the year and first on the road.
"We came out with a great mentality, obviously South Carolina played well in the first game and got us out-of-system, but we hung in there and fought back," head coach Rick Nold said following the win. "They won a tight fourth game and then we battled back and put a lot of pressure on them in the fifth set. That's what you want to see when you when you get in a few tough situations and turn things around."
Filley broke the Auburn single-season 25-point rally scoring assists record in the match that was previously held by former Tiger Sara Shanks, who recorded 995 in 2008. The freshman also became the eighth Auburn setter ever to record 1,000 assists in a single season and first since 2006.The Louisville, Ky., native currently has 1,013 assists this year.
Filley also recorded her 15th double-double the year with 52 assists and 14 digs against South Carolina (15-12, 5-9 SEC) to direct a balanced Auburn offense all while adding in four kills, three blocks and two service aces.
Auburn found consistent success from the outside throughout the match. Crable's 20 kills were the most by the freshman this season as the Tigers had four players finish in double-digits. Emily Klitzke recorded a match-high .448 hitting percentage along with 16 kills on 29 swings. Macy Reece also posted 16 kills for the Tigers, while Stephanie Campbell finished with 11 against the Gamecocks.
"We did a really good job in the first set of passing the ball really well and giving Alexa a chance to make those decisions," Nold said. "I think we were more aggressive out-of-system, but we definitely spread it around and everyone stepped up."
The Tigers' 75 kills against the Gamecocks were tied for the most in a single match this season and marked the fourth time in the last six contests Auburn finished with four players with double-digit kills.
Alyssa Ivey logged a match-high 25 digs - the most by the junior against an SEC foe this season. Ivey moved into sixth in single-season history with 378 digs in 2014. Kelly Stewart also added in 10 digs to key Auburn's passing game.
Breanna Barksdale led the Tigers with five blocks in the match to move in fourth in single-season history with 90 blocks. Klitzke also added in three blocks for the Tigers, while Campbell chipped in two.
Auburn rebounded from dropping a back-and-forth opening frame to claim the second set. The Tigers grabbed the lead at 17-16 in the frame and never let go of it, reeling off eight of the next 12 points to head into the locker room tied at one set apiece.
Strong defense from both squads kept the third set tight early, but Auburn picked up the pace offensively and hit .405 to pull away from the Gamecocks. The Tigers led for nearly the entire fourth set but a late 4-0 run by South Carolina sent the match to a fifth frame. Up 24-23, Auburn appeared to have closed out the match on a kill from Reece, but the call was overruled.
Auburn had more kills than the Gamecocks (75-57), a higher hitting percentage (.278-202), more service aces (5-2) and more digs (71-67). The Gamecocks did hold the advantage in the blocking game, 11-8.
The Tigers return to action on Friday to wrap up the season series at Alabama with match time set for 7 p.m. in Tuscaloosa on the SEC Network +.
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