GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Auburn volleyball team fell to No. 12 Florida in the opening match of Southeastern Conference play, 3-0 (12-25, 18-25, 12-25) Friday evening at the Exactech Arena.
Offensively, sophomore Tatum Shipes led Auburn (6-6, 0-1 SEC) with four kills, while junior Chesney McClellan and sophomore Val Green each chipped in three for the Tigers.
Junior setter Morgan Kull finished with nine digs and chipped in 12 assists. Shipes added seven digs, while junior Payton White and sophomore Bella Rosenthall contributed four.
No. 12 Florida (10-2, 1-0 SEC) was led by sophomore Thayer Hall's 14 kills, while setter Marlie Monserez picked up 30 helpers. Senior Allie Gregory paced UF defensively with 11 digs.
Auburn closes out its 10-game road swing at South Carolina Sunday. First serve from Columbia is set for 12:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
SET ONE
The two teams opened the match exchanging points before a 9-0 push by Florida put the Gators up 13-3. Another charge by UF extended the Gator lead to 19-5. The Tigers fought off three set points, but Florida went on to take the opening stanza, 25-12.
SET TWO
Back-to-back errors from UF brought the Tigers within one point of the lead at 6-7. Auburn capitalized on service errors from the Gators to hold close at the media timeout. Florida pushed a 4-0 run out of the stoppage to stretch its lead to 19-11. Auburn once again made a run late in the set, but UF went on to win, 25-18.
SET THREE
Big swings from Shipes and Green gave the Tigers the early lead at 5-4. Tied at 7-7, the Gator used a pair of runs to go ahead 16-9. The Gators used Tiger miscues to seal the match with a 25-12 victory.