Sept. 18, 2015
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TAMPA, Fla. - Brenna McIlroy and Courtney Crable combined for 20 kills, but No. 1 Penn State was too much in a 3-0 win over Auburn on Friday at the USF Invitational.
The Tigers (7-3) hit for the third-highest percentage by a Penn State opponent this season at .172, but the Nittany Lions (9-0) were stellar offensively, hitting .444 as a team with no hitter under .300 in the match.
"It was definitely disappointing," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "I didn't think we came out and competed the way we needed to. We talked about some things in the game plan, and mentally, I didn't think we put the effort in to execute. That's something we've got to learn. Sometimes you get caught up in what's happening as opposed to simplifying the game and going out to perform."
McIlroy had a strong match against the nation's top-ranked team, putting down 11 kills with just three errors for a .320 hitting percentage. Crable added nine kills to pace the Auburn offense.
Jesse Earl led the Auburn defense with 11 digs, and Emily Klitzke, Breanna Barksdale and CiCi Silva were in on two blocks apiece.
Penn State was led by sophomore middle blocker Haleigh Washington, who had 11 kills on 13 attempts with no errors.
Auburn plays two matches on Saturday. The Tigers take on host USF (2-7) at 10 a.m. CT and face St. John's (9-4) at 4 p.m. CT. Live stats for both matches will be available at GoUSFBulls.com.
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