Sept. 17, 2016
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YPSILANTI, Mich. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn volleyball team used a collective effort with five players reaching new bests to top Colgate, 3-1 (28-26, 25-21, 24-26, 25-21), Saturday in the EMU Convocation Center.
Junior setter Alexa Filley put together the first triple-double of her career, totaling a career-high 11 kills and 25 digs with 44 assists. Junior Jesse Earl recorded her third double-double of the season with a career-high 16 assists and a match-best 26 digs, while sophomore Brenna McIlroy tied a season-high with 18 kills.
Senior Breanna Barksdale added 10 kills and tied a season-best with seven blocks. Junior Courtney Crable chipped in a season-best 10 kills, while classmate Macy Reece finished with nine. Sophomore Abigail Miller helped the Tiger defense with 10 digs.
"It all started with ball control and we gave everyone opportunities to score," head coach Rick Nold said. "Alexa (Filley) did a great job spreading the ball around, while also giving herself some opportunities. Our defense also played tough and that set us up to win."
Kathleen Harris and Jaelah Hutchison led Colgate (3-6) with 16 and 10 kills, respectively. Setter Molly Smith finished with 44 assists and 11 digs, while libero Madison McAndrews led the team with 17 digs.
After falling behind to start set one, Auburn pushed a five-point run to go ahead 6-3. Colgate responded by going up 10-8 and held its slim lead throughout most of the set. Down 22-19, a kill from McIlroy sent Auburn on a 4-0 rally to give the Tigers a 23-22 advantage. A Raider error made it set point for Auburn, 25-24, but Colgate pushed its own set point with a 26-25 lead. Back-to-back kills from Barksdale made it 27-26 Auburn and a kill from Filley sealed a 28-26 Tiger win.
Successful blocking lifted the Tigers to a quick 8-1 lead in the second set. A kill from Reece and a Raider error made it 12-4 and a Crable kill made it 14-6. Colgate began to inch its way back into the set and came within a point at 15-14. More Raider attack errors pushed Auburn to a 21-14 advantage and the Tigers held off a late Colgate run to take the set, 25-21.
After intermission, Colgate came out to take a 4-1 lead and pressed for an 8-3 advantage to force an Auburn timeout. Late in the set, back-to-back kills from Filley brought Auburn within two at 17-15 before the Raiders pushed back to take another substantial lead. The Tigers battled back to tie it up at 23, but Colgate held for a 26-24 win.
The teams went back and forth to start the fourth before kills from McIlroy and Barksdale sent the Tigers on a run for a 10-6 lead. More kills from McIlroy and Barksdale made it 17-12 and a McIlroy ace put Auburn ahead at 21-15. The Tigers stalled a late Colgate push and went on to win, 25-21.
The Tigers close out the Michigan Challenge with a 6 p.m. CT match at Eastern Michigan in the EMU Convocation Center.