Sept. 8, 2017
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AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn volleyball team extended its winning streak to five Friday night as the Tigers topped South Alabama, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-15), in the opening match of the War Eagle Invitational in Auburn Arena.
"I think we could have played a little bit better tonight, but I'm proud with how we finished," head coach Rick Nold said. "We did a good job handling the ball and getting it to our middles. We need to bring more energy tomorrow night and be ready to play."
The Jaguars (3-4) take on Clemson Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. CT. The two Tiger squads close out the weekend that evening with a 6 p.m. CT showdown in Auburn Arena.
Freshman Anna Stevenson had a solid night for Auburn as the Laurens, S.C., product totaled a career-best 12 kills on 25 attempts. Sophomore Shaina White continued to excel offensively and connected for 11 kills on 16 swings with no errors and a .688 hitting percentage. Sophomore Gwyn Jones and junior Brenna McIlroy added nine and eight kills, respectively.
Senior setter Alexa Filley picked up her fourth double-double this season, having a match-best 38 assist with 10 digs. Senior libero Jesse Earl had a team-high 19 digs, while McIlroy totaled a season-high 16. Stevenson tied her career total in blocks with five.
South Alabama's libero Abby Baker led the match with 21 digs, while Kelley Hartman had six blocks. Iva Durdanovic totaled five kills and setter Ashlyn Roberts had 10 assists.
Back-to-back kills from Stevenson made it 8-6 in the first before a Jaguar run pushed the visitors ahead at 10-8, forcing an early AU timeout. The Tigers immediately responded with a seven-point rally to go up 15-10 and USA errors made it 20-13. Tough serving from S. White led to set point, 24-15, and the team took the set with a 25-17 victory.
After a service ace from Payton White gave the Tigers a quick 4-2 advantage to start set two, the teams went back and forth throughout the rest of the set with 16 ties. A Stevenson/ Macy Reece block lifted the Tigers to a 23-22 lead and Jaguar attack error forced USA to a timeout with set point on the line. Stevenson slammed home a kill to give Auburn a two-set lead, 25-22.
The Tigers held momentum into the final stanza, pushing a quick 5-0 advantage. A handful of two-point AU runs made it 10-3 and kills from McIlroy and Jones set the score at 14-8. Another smart swing by S. White led to a long rally, 21-12, and Stevenson sealed the match with her 12th kill, 25-15.