Nov. 18, 2016
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COLUMBIA, Mo. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn volleyball team traveled to No. 25 Missouri for a Friday night match and fell to the nationally-ranked Tigers, 3-1 (17-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-19). Auburn moved to 14-14 on the season and 8-7 in SEC play.
Freshman Gwyn Jones tied a career high in kills for AU, having 16 on the night. Sophomore Brenna McIlroy had 13 kills in the match, while senior Breanna Barksdale chipped in 10.
Junior Alexa Filley recorded her team-leading 18th double-double of the season, finishing with 35 assists and a match-high 16 digs. McIlroy picked up her 11th double-double for the Tigers this year, adding 14 digs. Junior libero Jesse Earl finished with 14 digs and classmate Kelly Stewart led the team with two service aces.
Melanie Crow led Mizzou (22-5, 13-2) with 22 kills and setter Courtney Eckenrode totaled 45 assists and 11 digs. Carly Kan had a team-best 15 digs and libero Alexa Ethridge chipped in 10.
Auburn came out firing in set one, pushing a 7-3 lead. A kill by McIlroy lifted AU to a 14-7 advantage and one from Enija Bidzane made it 18-11. A block from Macy Reece /Jones sent Auburn on a run and a kill by Jones put the visiting Tigers at set point, 24-16. AU went on to win the opener, 25-17.
A strong swing from McIlroy triggered a five-point Auburn run, putting the away team ahead at 8-3 in the second. Mizzou responded with a long run of its own and took the lead, 12-11. The teams exchanged points before an MU rally pushed the home Tigers up at 20-18. Mizzou closed out the set with four-straight points, winning 25-20.
Kills from Barksdale and Bidzane tied set three early at 4-4 before strong swings by freshmen Bidzane and Jones pushed AU ahead, 7-6. Mizzou errors gave Auburn the advantage, 11-7, but the home team battled back to tie the set at 13. After swapping sideouts, Missouri pushed a 6-1 run to take a 23-18 lead and the home squad captured the set, 25-19.
Mizzou found itself up 8-5 in the fourth before kills by Jones and McIlroy and a Tate Pember ace made it 13-12 for the visitors. Reece and Bidzane chipped in a kill each to push Auburn ahead at 18-15, forcing a MU timeout. The home team responded with a 9-0 run to earn match point and Mizzou took the match with a 25-19 win.
Auburn returns to Auburn Arena Sunday, Nov. 20, for a 1:30 p.m. CT match vs. South Carolina. The Tigers and the Gamecocks will face off on SEC Network+ and admission is free.