ATHENS, Ga. – The Auburn volleyball team took a 3-0 (26-24, 25-14, 29-27) road win Thursday night, topping Georgia in Stegeman Coliseum. The win moved the squad to 11-15 overall and 4-12 in the Southeastern Conference.
"I was happy to see us play a complete game tonight," head coach Rick Nold said. "I felt that we were the aggressor the entire match and kept Georgia on their heels. Defensively, the team did a great job to put us in system all night with their ball control and the result was a very balanced attack. I'm proud of the way we stepped up to the challenge tonight."
Senior Brenna McIlroy led all attackers with 16 kills in the match, while freshman Tatum Shipes chipped in nine. Sophomore Chesney McClellan finished with eight kills and junior Gwyn Jones and sophomore Anna Stevenson had five a piece. Freshman setter Mica Allison led the match with 39 assists.
Defensively, the Tigers limited the Bulldogs to a .088 hitting clip, marking the second time this season the squad has kept their opponent below .100. Freshman libero Bella Rosenthall had 15 digs to lead all student-athletes in the match, while junior Karis Beasley had 13. McClellan had a team-high four blocks for the squad and Jones had her hand on three.
McIlroy added eight digs with three service aces and freshman Katie Persons set a career best with seven digs and two aces.
Georgia (13-13, 4-11) was led by Mallory Hernandez with 14 kills. Setter Meghan Donovan had 26 assists and libero Caroline Ostman totaled 11 digs.
The Bulldogs came out with a quick 4-1 lead in the first and pushed ahead at 10-6. A kill from Jones followed by a pair by McIlroy set the score at 13-all and a swing from McClellan sent the Tigers on a five-point rally for a 21-17 lead. Georgia chipped away at the Auburn lead and locked the set at 24-all, but a kill from Stevenson followed by one by Shipes gave Auburn the 26-24 win.
A pair of aces from Persons gave Auburn a 4-2 advantage in set two and kills from McClellan and Jones set the score at 11-6. A four-point push by the Tigers made it 19-8 and another kill for McIlroy gave AU at 10-point lead, 21-11. After a brief timeout, the Tigers rattled off the last four points to take the set, 25-14.
The teams battled back and forth in the third before a four-point swing from the Tigers made it 14-10. Three-straight kills from Shipes followed by another McIlroy ace moved Auburn ahead at 20-14, forcing a Georgia timeout. The Bulldogs responded and came back to earn set point, 24-23. It was another back-and-forth affair to end the match until a kill from McIlroy tied it up at 27 and a Beasley kill from the back row gave Auburn match point, 28-27. McIlroy capped her big night with a strike to win the contest, 29-27.
Auburn caps the regular season with a pair of matches next week. The Tigers host Mississippi State Wednesday, Nov. 21, in Auburn Arena. The Senior Day match is slated for 7 p.m. CT. The squad then takes to the road in the regular season finale, traveling to No. 11 Kentucky Saturday, Nov. 24, for a 12 p.m. CT contest.
