AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn volleyball team dropped another five-set heartbreaker (24-26, 25-15, 22-25, 25-21, 20-18), falling to a talented Georgia team in Auburn Arena Wednesday night. The loss moved the Tigers to 8-7 overall and 1-4 in the Southeastern Conference.
"It was a good match where both teams were making big plays all night," head coach Rick Nold said. "Georgia relied on the quick play from the outsides and we struggled with that towards the end. I liked the way both teams battled and someone has to win at the end. It's just part of the game."
Senior Brenna McIlroy led the team with 19 kills and freshman Mica Allison had a double-double with 46 assists and 13 digs. Sophomore Anna Stevenson and freshman Taylor Rowland chipped in nine kills apiece, while junior Gwyn Jones added eight.
The Tiger blockers continued to excel at the net, finishing with 12 stuffs on the night. Stevenson and Allison led all student-athletes with six. That total was a career high for Allison. Junior Shaina White had five and Jones had four.
Freshman libero Bella Rosenthall totaled 18 digs and junior Karis Beasley finished with a season-best 14.
Georgia (12-4, 3-2) was led by its outside hitters as Rachel Ritchie had 25 kills and T'ara Ceasar finished with 23. Setter Meghan Donovan totaled 62 assists and 19 digs and libero Kendall Glover chipped in 19 digs in the back as well.
The Tigers came out firing in the first, going ahead 7-2 on big swings from Stevenson and McIlroy. A pair of kills by Allison and a service ace from Rosenthall made it 11-7 and a kill from S. White forced a Georgia timeout at 15-11. The Bulldogs regrouped to tie the set at 16-all before a stuff from Stevenson/Allison sent the Tigers on a run for a 19-16 advantage. Auburn earned set point on a kill by Rowland and after a late push by the Bulldogs, the Tigers took the set, 26-24.
Georgia regrouped in the second and jumped up 7-3. A handful of two-point pushes from the Bulldogs made it 15-8 and a four-point run for UGA gave the visitors a 21-10 lead. Georgia tied the match at one set apiece with a 25-15 win.
Solid serving from S. White led to a quick 4-1 lead for Auburn in the third. More tough serving from the Tigers halfway through the set pushed AU ahead at 17-10 and a kill and ace by McIlroy made it 19-11. Another late push by the Bulldogs brought the visitors within two at 22-20, but a big swing from McIlroy sealed the 25-22 victory.
Set four was a tight contest, seeing 12 ties and six lead changes. A block from S. White/Allison put the squad up 6-5 and a kill from Allison triggered a small run for a 9-6 advantage. A swing by McIlroy sent the teams to the media timeout with AU up 15-13 and the Bulldogs capitalized on the break to swing three points for a 16-15 lead. A big five-point push at the end of the stanza from UGA gave the squad a 24-19 lead and the visitors forced the fifth with a 25-21 win.
The final set was a back-and-forth affair, having 11 ties with four lead changes. More tough serving from S. White led to a quick 4-1 advantage for the Tigers, but the Bulldogs once again battled back to lock it up at 5-all. UGA used a pair of two-point pushes for an 11-9 lead, forcing an Auburn timeout. Kills from Jones and McIlroy tied it up at 11-all and the two teams battled the rest of the set. The Bulldogs faced match point with at 14-12, but a UGA attack error and a service ace from Payton White locked it up at 14-14. A big stuff from S. White/Allison gave the Tigers match point, 17-16, before UGA took a timeout and capitalized on its big arms on the outside. Auburn held off a Bulldog match point, but the visitors went on to take the contest, 20-18.
Auburn continues its home stretch, hosting rival Alabama Sunday afternoon. The two squads will face off at 1:30 p.m. CT on SEC+ in Auburn Arena.
