Aug. 19, 2017
2017 Schedule
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn volleyball team had a successful showing in its first action against an opponent, defeating UAB in an exhibition, 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-15), Saturday afternoon in Auburn Arena.
"I really liked what I saw today," head coach Rick Nold said. "We've never had an exhibition before so this was a good opportunity for us to go out there and see where we are at this point in preseason. We have a lot to work on still, but I think everyone really stepped and did a good job."
Junior Brenna McIlroy put together a solid performance on the outside for the Tigers as the Garland, Texas product finished with 15 kills on 29 swings for a .448 attack percentage. She came away with a double-double on the day, totaling 12 digs in the back row.
Auburn enjoyed success at the service line as five Tigers combined for nine service aces. Senior setter Alexa Filley let the way with three, while sophomore Karis Beasley and junior Jesse Earl chipped in a pair each.
The Tiger defense limited the UAB offense to a -.048 attack percentage, finishing with 45 team digs and three blocks. Earl led the way with a match-high 13 digs to go with McIlroy's 12. Filley had six, while Beasley and freshman Payton White had five and four, respectively.
Senior Courtney Crable and freshman Anna Stevenson totaled seven kills apiece and sophomore Gwyn Jones added five. Filley finished with 31 assists to go with her six kills, while sophomore Shaina White had three kills in her first match for Auburn.
Locked at two early in the first, kills from four separate Tigers led to an 8-2 AU lead and forced UAB into a timeout. A pair of service aces from Filley highlighted another run for Auburn, making it 18-7, and a kill from Jones sent the Tigers on a 7-2 rally to close out the set, 25-11.
Back-to-back kills from McIlroy pushed the Tigers to an 11-7 lead in set two. A solid swing from Crable made it 15-11 and three-straight McIlroy kills led to a 22-13 advantage. A Jones kill gave AU set point and Crable sealed the stanza with a strike, 25-16.
The squads exchanged runs to open the final set before a Stevenson kill sent the Tigers running. A pair of Beasley aces highlighted the four-point swing, 12-9. Another lengthy AU rally pushed the home squad to a 17-10 lead and an ace from Morgan Kull followed by kills from Filley and Stevenson closed out the match, 25-15.
The Tigers open the 2017 season in Atlanta, traveling to Georgia Tech's Hyatt Regency Invitational, Aug. 25-26. Auburn opens with a match vs. the Yellow Jackets Friday and follows with tilts against No. 17 Michigan State and Furman Saturday.
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