AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-16) contest to No. 24 Missouri Wednesday night in Auburn Arena. The Tigers moved to 10-14 overall and 3-11 in the Southeastern Conference.
"I liked how we battled in those first two sets," head coach Rick Nold said. "Missouri is a seasoned team and they make very few mistakes. They took advantage of our slip ups at the end and held on to the win. We're looking forward to what's next on Sunday."
Freshman Tatum Shipes finished with another double-digit performance, having 10 kills to lead the Tigers. Senior Brenna McIlroy added eight, while sophomore middles Chesney McClellan and Anna Stevenson chipped in six apiece. Freshman setter Mica Allison totaled 30 assists for Auburn.
Defensively, freshman libero Bella Rosenthall totaled a team-best nine digs and junior Karis Beasley finished with seven. Stevenson had a team-best four blocks. Beasley and Allison chipped in a pair of service aces each for the Tigers.
Missouri (21-5, 11-3) had a pair of Tigers in double digits. Dariana Hollingswort finished with 11 kills and 10 digs, while Alyssa Munlyn had 10 kills and four blocks. Setter Andrea Fuentes had 43 assists and libero Riley Sents totaled 11 digs.
Missouri got off to a quick 4-1 lead in the first set, but two service aces by Beasley tied it up a 4-all. The teams traded points before big Auburn blocks from Stevenson/Shipes and Stevenson/Allison pushed the home squad up at 11-10. A five-point run from Missouri late in the set pushed the visitors back out front, 22-17. Auburn responded with a rally to cut the lead to two at 22-20, but the comeback fell short as Missouri won the first, 25-21.
Auburn jumped out to an early 5-3 lead in the second set with kills from Shipes and McIlroy. Both teams exchanged points before a strong swing from McClellan made it 12-11 AU. Missouri rallied to take a 17-14 lead, but Auburn responded to tie it up at 22 and forced Missouri into a timeout. The visiting Tigers once again held on and went up 2-0 in the match with a 25-23 victory.
A McIlroy/Stevenson block made it 4-all to start the third before a long run from Mizzou lifted the visitors to a 10-4 lead. A kill from Shipes followed by errors from MU brought the home team within four at 12-8, but Mizzou's advantage held throughout the set and gave the team a 25-16 win.
The Tigers continue their homestand, hosting No. 14 Florida in a Sunday afternoon contest. Auburn and the nationally-ranked Gators will face off at 12 p.m. CT, Nov. 11, in Auburn Arena. The match will be televised on SEC Network.
