Sept. 1, 2016
AUBURN, Ala. -- The Auburn volleyball team is set to travel to Louisville, Ky., for the Active Ankle Challenge hosted by Louisville, Sept. 2-3. The two-day tournament will be played in the KFC Yum! Center.
The Tigers (1-3) open play with a 4 p.m. CT match vs. Stony Brook Friday. They follow with a 11 a.m. CT match with Santa Clara Saturday and close out the weekend against host Louisville at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Saturday night's match will be aired on ACC Network Extra/WatchESPN.
QUICK HITS
- After falling behind 2-1, Auburn put together a late comeback to defeat Kennesaw State, 3-2 (25-18, 21-25, 15-25, 28-26, 15-10), Tuesday night in Auburn Arena.
- The Tigers had a trio of attackers with double-digit kills as senior Emily Klitzke led the way with a season-high 16. Sophomore Brenna McIlroy finished with 12 kills and 10 digs, while freshman Gwyn Jones chipped in 11 kills.
- Defensively, Auburn had four Tigers with double-digit digs in the team's 79-dig performance. Junior Jesse Earl totaled a season-best 26 digs, while classmate Kelly Stewart added 15. The backrow duo also had three aces a piece.
- Earl's 5.31 digs/set average this season currently leads all student-athletes in the SEC.
LOUISVILLE CONNECTION
- This weekend's tournament is a homecoming for juniors Alexa Filley and Courtney Crable and head coach Rick Nold as all three hail from Louisville.
- Filley (Assumption HS) and Crable (Mercy Academy) played for rival high schools, but were also teammates on their Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy (KIVA) club team.
- Freshman Gwyn Jones came to Auburn from Greenwood, Ind., which is roughly 17 miles northwest of Louisville. She also competed for KIVA before coming to The Plains.
SCOUTING STONY BROOK
- The Seawolves enter the weekend with a 1-3 overall. The team is recently coming off a 3-0 loss at Hofstra, Aug. 30.
- Sophomores McKyla Brooks and Taylor Wilson lead the team in kills, averaging 2.69 and 2.38 per set, respectively.
- Brooks and freshman Jordan Gels have a team-best .77 blocks/set average, while Gels also is average 2.38 digs/set.
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA
- The Santa Clara Broncos travel to Louisville with a perfect 3-0 record after winning the USC Baden Invitational, Aug. 26-27. The team defeated UC Irvine (3-0), host USC (3-1) and Marquette (3-1) to take the tournament crown.
- The Broncos are currently receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
- Junior setter Kirsten Mead was named the invitational MVP and earned West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors. She averaged 11.27 assists and added 35 digs, six blocks and four aces over the team's first three matches.
- A trio of Broncos are averaging more than three kills per set in Nikki Hess (3.64), Jensen Cunningham (3.45), and Sabrina Clayton (3.27).
SCOUTING LOUISVILLE
- The Louisville Cardinals traveled to Bowling Green, Ohio, to open the 2016 season and came away as tournament champions with a 3-0 record.
- The team is currently ranked No. 21 in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
- Freshman Melanie McHenry leads the Cardinals with 50 kills on the season and a 4.17 kills/set average. Senior Janelle Jenkins is second with 35 kills and a 2.92 average.
UP NEXT
The Tigers return to Auburn Arena, Sept. 9-10, and host the Auburn Invitational. The team opens with a pair of matches vs. Memphis and Miami (OH) Friday and close out the weekend with a 1:30 p.m. match vs. Jacksonville.