Sept. 25, 2016
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The Auburn volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-19) match to No. 19 Texas A&M Sunday afternoon in Reed Arena.
"With a team so balanced offensively like Texas A&M, you can't give them easy situations and that's what we did today," head coach Rick Nold said. "We gave them too many free balls and they took advantage of that."
Auburn (7-8, 1-1 SEC) was led by freshman Gwyn Jones with 10 kills, while sophomore Brenna McIlroy and junior Courtney Crable each had eight. Defensively, McIlroy had a team-best 13 digs and libero Jesse Earl finished with 10. Junior Macy Reece totaled a season-best four blocks for the Tigers.
Ashlie Reasor finished with 14 kills for Texas A&M (7-6, 1-1 SEC) and Hollann Hans added 10. Libero Amy Nettles finished with 16 digs, while Victoria Arenas had 14.
The Tigers found themselves down by as much as seven at 10-7 in set 1, but they inched their way back in the set. A kill from McIlroy sent the Tigers on a 5-0 run to tie the score at 19 and kills from Jones and Filley made it 23-22 Auburn. The Aggies battled back to earn set point and went on to take the first, 26-24.
The teams exchanged points to open the second stanza before a three-point Aggie run pushed the home squad to a 12-8 lead. The Tigers came back to tie the set at 13, but TAMU used a handful of small rallies to take a 23-17 advantage. The Aggies went on to take the set, 25-18.
A trio of Aggie errors put Auburn ahead 3-1 in the third, but TAMU responded with big blocks to go up 6-4. A kill by Crable locked the set at 7-7 before the Aggies capitalized on Auburn miscues to push a 11-8 lead. TAMU pressed another long run and held on to take the match with a 25-19, win.
Auburn continues SEC play on the road, traveling to Mississippi State and Georgia. The Tigers will take on MSU Friday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. CT. The team will follow with a 12:30 p.m. CT Sunday, Oct. 2, in Athens, Ga.