Sept. 17, 2016
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YPSILANTI, Mich. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn volleyball team closed out its non-conference schedule with a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23) loss at Eastern Michigan in the Convocation Center Saturday night.
Freshman Enija Bidzane led Auburn (6-7) with a career-high 19 kills, while sophomore Brenna McIlroy chipped in 13. Setter Alexa Filley picked up another double-double, having 42 assists and 13 digs. Libero Jesse Earl led all student-athletes with 18 digs.
Eastern Michigan (5-7) had three players with double-digit kills in Jordan Smith (17), Devon Murray (11), and Alysa Sutton (11). Libero Alyssa LaFace had 17 digs and Melva Smith had six blocks.
EMU opened the match with a lot of momentum and took a quick 4-0 lead to start the first. Eagle errors brought the Tigers within a point at 10-9, but EMU pushed another run to go up 19-15. The Eagles closed out the set on a 4-0 rally, winning 25-18.
Auburn came out in set two with a 4-1 advantage before Tiger errors gave the home team an 8-7 lead. The Eagles followed with errors of their own, putting Auburn up 13-10 and back-to-back aces from McIlroy lifted the Tigers to a 17-12 lead. EMU stormed back late and took a 23-21 lead, forcing an Auburn timeout. AU regrouped and closed out the set on a 4-0 run to win, 25-23.
Tiger errors led to a 4-2 EMU lead in the third and the Eagles pressed for a 10-5 advantage. More Auburn errors made it 15-8 and the home team found themselves facing set point at 24-19. The Tigers held off two set points, but the Eagles were too much and took the set, 25-20.
The home team continued its momentum into the fourth and went ahead at 10-5. A handful of small Eagle rallies pushed EMU up 17-11 before Auburn used a 4-1 run to force an Eagle timeout at 18-15. A pair of aces from Abigail Miller and a kill by McIlroy put the Tigers ahead at 19-18 and another Bidzane kill made it 21-19 Auburn. EMU, however, closed out the set and took a 25-23 win.
Auburn kicks off its SEC schedule with a home match vs. rival LSU, Sept. 23, in Auburn Arena. First serve is at 7 p.m. CT. The Tigers follow with a road match at nationally-ranked Texas A&M, Sept. 25, at 2 p.m. in College Station, Texas.