Sept. 12, 2015
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Auburn claimed its second preseason tournament title of the season with a 3-0 win (25-17, 28-26, 25-22) over Tennessee Tech Saturday afternoon at the Memphis Invitational.
The Tigers (7-2) went 3-0 in the Memphis tournament, running their preseason tournament record to a perfect 6-0 on the year. Along with today's win over Tennessee Tech (1-9), the Tigers downed Little Rock and Memphis to claim the title.
Sophomore setter Alexa Filley was named tournament MVP after averaging 12.30 assists/set for the week. She also had nine kills, 17 digs, a pair of service aces and a block during the three-match tournament. Junior middle blocker Emily Klitzke also earned a selection to the all-tournament team after a 13-kill performance Saturday; she averaged 2.50 kills/set for the weekend and hit a team-best .281.
"We're really happy to come through this tournament with three wins," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "We knew we'd have some great competition that would challenge us in a lot of ways. I thought we fought through some tough times and made some big plays when it counted."
In today's match, Klitzke and freshman Brenna McIlroy led the Tigers with 13 kills apiece. Klitzke hit .500 for the day with just three errors on 20 swings, and McIlroy hit a season-best .417. McIlroy also picked up her fourth double-double of the season, tying for the team lead with 12 digs.
Junior Stephanie Campbell, in her first action of the weekend, stepped into the lineup in the third set and caught fire, hitting .727 with an error-free eight kills on 11 attempts.
"It was really important how Steph came in and gave us a big boost," Nold said, "hitting for the percentage she did. She brings a lot of energy to us, and that was something we needed this afternoon."
For the match, Auburn hit .271 while holding Tennessee Tech to a .112 clip. The Tigers had 50 kills to the Golden Eagles' 31, out-dug TTU 50-40, and both teams had four blocks.
Auburn hit .407 in the first set with 15 kills and just four errors. The Tigers jumped out to an 8-1 lead and never looked back as Tennessee Tech got no closer than six points the rest of the set. Klitzke put down six kills on eight swings, hitting an error-free .750 in the opening frame.
The second set saw Auburn jump to another early lead, but the Golden Eagles rallied and forced the Tigers to fight for a 28-26 win. There were 10 ties and one lead change in the set, and it took Auburn four attempts at set point to put TTU away. Two kills by Klitzke and a block from Barksdale and Reece gave the Tigers their last three tries at set point, and a McIlroy kill ended the set.
Set three was another back-and-forth affair with nine ties and four lead changes, but Campbell gave Auburn a spark with eight of the Tigers' 19 kills in the final frame. The Tigers hit .341 in the third set with just four errors.
Auburn returns to action next Friday at the USF Tournament in Tampa, Fla. The Tigers will take on top-ranked Penn State in the opening match Friday night, then face USF and St. John's on Saturday.
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