COLLEGE STATION, Texas. – The Auburn volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-21) contest at Texas A&M Friday night in Reed Arena. The Tigers moved to 8-9 overall and 1-6 in the Southeastern Conference.
"Texas A&M is an experienced team and tough to play in their home arena," head coach Rick Nold said. "We had some great moments all night, but the Aggies took advantage of our mistakes. A good team will do that to you."
Junior Gwyn Jones and freshman Taylor Rowland chipped in nine kills apiece, while freshman setter Mica Allison at 30 assists.
Middle blockers Shaina White and Anna Stevenson had four kills each, while White finished with three blocks and Stevenson had two. Junior Karis Beasley led the team with eight digs.
Texas A&M (11-8, 4-2) was led by Hollann Hans with 16 kills. Setter Camille Conner finished with 34 assists and libero Amy Houser finished with 14 digs.
The two squads exchanged sideouts until a four-point push from the Aggies lifted the home team to a 9-5 lead. Auburn responded with a run being kills from S. White and Rowland to cut the lead at 9-8 and a kill from Jones tied the set at 10-all. After more sideouts, another four-point run made it 17-13 TAMU and the home team went on to take the set, 25-18.
The Aggies held momentum into the second and went up 4-0. TAMU continued to push and took a 12-6 lead, forcing an Auburn timeout. A pair of Auburn runs highlighted by a great kill from Stevenson and a service ace from Payton White made it 14-11, but the Aggies responded with a long run to go up 18-12. TAMU closed out the stanza with a 25-17 win.
After falling behind by three to start set three, a kill from Stevenson and a Stevenson/Allison block locked up the set at 5-all. A great swing by Tatum Shipes followed by a Jones kill pushed the Tigers ahead at 11-10 and an ace from Beasley made it 14-12. Another kill by Shipes pushed Auburn to a 19-16 advantage, forcing a TAMU timeout. The Aggies regrouped and used their upperclassman experience, rattling off five of the next six points for a 21-20 lead. The home squad held to take the match, 25-21.
Auburn caps the road weekend on the road at LSU Sunday, Oct. 14. The two Tiger squads will go head-to-head at 1 p.m. in Baton Rouge on SEC+.
