INDIANAPOLIS – The Auburn volleyball team kicked off the Top Dawg Challenge with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-18) sweep of host Butler Friday night inside historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
"The team did a great job attacking efficiently, especially on the outside," head coach Rick Nold said. "We just kept taking was given of us and stayed aggressive all night. I'm really proud of the way the team took advantage of every opportunity given tonight."
Auburn (2-1) saw big swings from the outside as both freshman Taylor Rowland and senior Brenna McIlroy finished with double-digit kills. Rowland reached a career best on the night, totaling 12 kills for the Auburn and finishing with a .524 hitting percentage with just one error. Senior Brenna McIlroy followed with 11 on 22 swings with one error for a .455 percentage.
Early in the second set, McIlroy picked up her 1,000th career kill as a Tiger. McIlroy became the 15th player in program history to reach the milestone.
"We rely on Brenna on many parts of game," Nold said. "She is now a member of an elite club and when looking at her full game and everything that she does for us on the court, it's impressive. I'm really proud of her."
Junior Gwyn Jones added six kills and a .545 hitting clip, while freshman setter Mica Allison totaled 30 assists.
Defensively, the Tigers limited Butler to a .080 attack percentage behind a team-best seven blocks on the year. Sophomore Anna Stevenson had a hand in six of the seven to set a season high. McIlroy finished with three.
Freshman libero Bella Rosenthall and junior Karis Beasley chipped in seven digs a piece with sophomore Payton White having six.
The teams went back and forth to start the first before kills from Jones and one by McIlroy pushed the Tigers ahead at 16-13, forcing a Butler timeout. A big kill from Stevenson made it 20-17, but the Bulldogs battled back and locked the set at 23-all. Auburn capitalized on a pair of Butler errors to take the set, 25-23.
Butler pushed a two-point advantage in set two and held its slim margin in the early parts of the stanza. The Bulldogs continued to push until McIlroy's 1,000th kill triggered a 5-0 run for the Tigers to take a 13-11 lead. A kill from Rowland and an ace by Beasley forced a Butler timeout, 19-15, and a kill from Stevenson sent Auburn on another run, 23-17. A big kill from Rowland sealed the set, 25-19.
Auburn used momentum to take a 9-6 lead in the third before the Bulldogs utilized Auburn errors for a 13-11 advantage. The Tigers battled back with a 5-1 run for the 17-15 lead and pushed a four-point rally to go up 21-16. Back-to-back kills by Rowland capped the night for a 25-18 win.
The Tigers return to Hinkle Fieldhouse Saturday, Sept. 1, for the final two matches of the Top Dawg Challenge. Auburn takes on Illinois State at 9 a.m. CT and follow with a 3 p.m. CT contest against Eastern Illinois.
