AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn volleyball team closed out the first weekend with a hard-fought victory, outlasting Butler in five sets (29-31, 25-22, 33-31, 14-25, 15-12) Saturday afternoon in Auburn Arena.
"I'm happy with the response of the team today," head coach Rick Nold said. "We've been really proud of the work they have put in all preseason and Friday was not indicative of the effort we've seen. To respond today when we were pushed will give this team a boost heading into next weekend."
Highlighting the match was the performance of junior libero Payton White. The Zionsville, Ind., product notched a career-high 37 digs to lead all student-athletes in the match, breaking the Auburn single match record in the category. Overall, White had 67 digs on the weekend for a 5.15 digs/set average, securing a spot on the all-tournament team.
"Payton made play after play when we needed it most today," Nold said. "She's going to be an important player for us all season so it's exciting to see her off to a quick start."
Sophomore setter Marissa Hines finished with a double-double, totaling a career-high 50 assists and 13 digs. Senior Enija Bidzane notched a season-best 17 kills for the Tigers, while sophomore Val Green had a career-high 16. Junior Chesney McClellan chipped in 10 and was placed on the all-tournament team for her performances this weekend.
Sophomore Tatum Shipes had a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs, while adding a career-high seven blocks. Sophomore Bella Rosenthall added 11 digs defensively for the squad.
Butler (1-2) had five with double-digit kills. Anna Logan and Megan Sheridan totaled 18 and 17, respectively, while Brooke Gregory finished with 15. Setter Megan Ramseyer led all student-athletes with 62 assists and libero Elizabeth LaBue finished with 24 digs.
Auburn hits the road for the first time for the Miami Invitational, Sept. 6-8, in Miami. The Tigers will face off with Florida Gulf Coast, South Florida and George Washington over the course of the weekend.
SET ONE
Auburn (1-2) came out swinging in the first set to go up 7-2. The Bulldogs progressively chipped away at the Tiger lead and locked the set at 18-all. An AU error gave Butler set point at 25-24, but Auburn battled back for its own set point at 28-27. After going back-and-forth, the Bulldogs used big swings to close out the stanza, 31-29.
SET TWO
Butler held momentum early for a 6-3 advantage, but the Tigers responded with a 6-1 push to go ahead 12-9. Kills from Green and Shipes made it 19-16 and another strike by Shipes gave Auburn set point, 24-22. Shipes and Shaina White teamed up for a block to seal the set win, 25-22.
SET THREE
It was another long set in the third as the teams once again went into extras. A kill from Hines and a solo stuff by Bidzane highlighted an Auburn run early to lift the home squad to an 8-5 lead. The Bulldogs pushed a four-point run to go up 12-10 and used another rally for a 17-13 advantage, forcing an Auburn timeout. The Tigers utilized big swings and Bulldog errors to lock the score at 24-all and the teams went back and forth until a kill from Green secured set point, 32-31. The Tigers took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 33-31 win.
SET FOUR
Butler regrouped and led the entire fourth stanza, opening with a 5-2 lead. A kill and an ace by the visitors brought the teams to the media timeout with Butler leading 15-8. More runs by the Bulldogs made it 20-11 and the visiting squad forced the deciding set with a 25-14 win.
SET FIVE
The Bulldogs jumped ahead and took a quick 8-5 lead as the squads switched sides. Big swings by McClellan sparked an Auburn rally to make it 10-all and another kill from McClellan sent the Tigers on a run to close out the set. Kills from Green and Shipes gave Auburn match point and the squad took the win, 15-12.