STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Auburn volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker (21-25, 12-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-13) at Mississippi State Wednesday night in the Newell-Grissom Building. The loss moved Auburn to 7-6 overall and 0-3 in the Southeastern Conference.
"We didn't stay mentally tough," head coach Rick Nold said. "We came out really strong both offensively and defensively in the first two sets, but let the little things really affect our game in the end."
Senior Brenna McIlroy led the squad with 19 kills, while junior Gwyn Jones chipped in a season-high 17 for the Tigers. Sophomore Anna Stevenson finished with 10 and freshman Taylor Rowland followed with nine. Freshman setter Mica Allison set a career high with 54 assists.
The Tiger blockers put together a solid performance, having 13 as a squad. Stevenson set a career best with nine stuffs and Jones had her hand on five. Allison and McIlroy finished with three apiece.
Three Tigers reached double digits in digs. Freshman libero Bella Rosenthall totaled 17 and sophomore Payton White tied her career high with 14. Junior Karis Beasley totaled finished with 11.
Mississippi State (5-11, 1-2 SEC) was led by Paige Shaw with 18 kills. Libero Kendall Murr totaled 19 digs and four service aces. Amarrah Cooks finished with 10 kills for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs came out with the lead in the first, going up 6-3 early. Big blocks from Stevenson and Jones highlighted a seven-point Tiger run to push Auburn ahead at 14-9. Another big run from the visitors made it 20-11, but the home squad battled back to come within three at 20-17. Another strong slide by Jones gave Auburn set point and the Tigers took the first with a 25-21 win.
Auburn brought the momentum with in set two, taking a quick 8-2 advantage. A kill from Rowland triggered another Tiger push for a 16-8 lead and a solo stuff from McIlroy made it 18-9. Auburn took the set off a big Allison/McClellan stuff, 25-12.
Kills by Stevenson followed by strikes from Rowland and McIlroy made it 11-8 Auburn in the third. The Bulldogs capitalized on Auburn errors to go up 12-11 before the Tigers returned the favor with a run for a 17-15 lead. A kill from McIlroy made it 20-17, but the Bulldogs regrouped after a timeout to go ahead 22-20. MSU went on to take the set, 25-22.
After falling behind early, the Bulldogs rattled off seven-straight points to take a 10-6 lead. The home team held its lead throughout the rest of the set until a pair of three-point pushes from the Tigers lifted AU to a 19-18 advantage. Mississippi State responded with tough serving to once again take the lead and held to force a fifth with a 25-23 win.
The fifth set was a battle between the two teams, seeing seven ties and three lead changes. The Tigers took a 5-3 lead to start, but the home team responded with a run to go up 7-5. Big kills from Jones and McIlroy made it 11-10 before the Bulldogs once again pushed ahead at 12-11. The home team held its margin and went on to take the match, 15-13.
The Tigers continue with a Sunday afternoon faceoff at Ole Miss, Sept. 30. AU and the Rebels will go head-to-head at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
