Aug. 27, 2016
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AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn volleyball team capped the 2016 War Eagle Invitational with a 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-17) loss to Pacific Saturday night in Auburn Arena.
Senior Emily Klitzke led the Tigers (0-3) with nine kills and added three blocks, while sophomore Brenna McIlroy and senior Breanna Barksdale finished with eight kills apiece. Freshman Gwyn Jones led the squad with four blocks and junior Courtney Crable contributed with six kills.
Pacific (2-1) had a pair of players with eight kills in Emily Baptista and Alexandra Holt. Alicja Wilk had a match-high six blocks and setter Andie Shelton totaled 30 assists.
A pair of kills from McIlroy and one by Barksdale led to a quick 4-2 Auburn lead in set one. The other Tigers responded with a run to jump ahead at 10-8 and forced an Auburn timeout leading 14-11. A Klitzke kill sent the Tigers on a run to tie the set at 14 and a three-point Auburn rally gave the home squad a 17-15 lead. The pesky Pacific team battled back to tie the set at 18 and again at 20. The visiting team capitalized on some Auburn errors and took the opening stanza, 25-22.
Set two was an exciting and tightly-contested set as the Tiger teams went into extra points to find the winner. Kills from Jones and Klitzke led to a quick 4-1 Auburn advantage before kills by McIlroy and Barksdale pushed AU up 6-2. A service ace from Kelly Stewart and a pair of kills by Klitzke set the score, 14-11, in Auburn's favor, but Pacific pushed itself back into the set and tied it up at 17. Locked at 26, back-to-back Pacific blocks sent the teams to the intermission with the visitors winning the set, 28-26.
The visiting Tigers continued their momentum after the break and jumped out to an early 4-1 advantage. A pair of large Pacific runs put the team up 16-4 and visitors went on to win the match with a 25-17 set win.
Auburn returns to the court for a Tuesday match, Aug. 30, hosting Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. in Auburn Arena. The team follows with a road trip to Louisville for the Active Ankle Challenge, Sept. 2-3. Auburn will take on Stony Brook, Santa Clara, and host Louisville.