Tigers fall in five sets at Alabama State

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – After dropping set one, Auburn volleyball (8-3) battled from behind to take a 2-1 advantage in the match, but Alabama State (3-12) stormed back to force a fifth set, winning the match 3-2 (20-25, 25-13, 25-15, 24-26, 14-16) Sunday afternoon at Dunn-Oliver Acadome.

Junior Rebekah Rath led the Tigers, tying her season-high with 24 kills. Rath earned her second double-double of the season as she chipped in 13 digs. The outside hitter added four blocks, an assist and two aces from the service line to total a season-high 29.0 points.

Graduate student Liz Reich closed the match in double-digit kills with 13 kills on a team-leading .370 hitting percentage. Rich also added an assist and one block.
Sophomore Jackie Barrett dished out 36 assists and led the team to a .209 hitting percentage. Barrett totaled six kills and added four digs.

At the net, the Tigers totaled seven team blocks with Rath leading the charge with four. Senior Elif Su Yavuz added three blocks and added a pair of kills.

Defensively, senior Bella Rosenthall led the charge with 27 digs for her fourth match of the season with at least 20 digs. Rosenthall added three assists and two service aces.

SET ONE
The Tigers jumped out early with a kill from Reich and a service ace from Rosenthall, but the Lady Hornets battled back to tie the set at 4-all. Alabama State went string together an 8-1 run to force a Tiger timeout. Auburn battled from behind using a pair of kills from Rath and Reich to cut the lead down to three, 16-13, but the Tigers continued close the gap as Alabama State took the set, 25-20. Errors were the deciding factor in the first set as the Tigers committed 14.
 
SET TWO
Auburn's offense flexed its muscle in set two as the Tigers attacked a .320 team percentage. The jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the set with help from a Tiger block and kill from Yavuz. Reich and Rath hammered home three kills apiece in the set to continue to build the Tiger lead. Auburn closed the match on a 7-0 run with help of ASU errors and block rom Rath and Shipes, winning 25-13.
 
SET THREE
Auburn's best offensive performance came in the third set as the Tigers totaled 16 kills, highlighted by seven from Rath. Rath closed the set with a .875 hitting percentage. As a team the Tigers recorded a blistering .406 hitting percentage in set three. The Tigers offense built a seven-point lead near the midway point, 13-6, forcing an ASU timeout. Rath and Reich picked their spots on the floor following the timeout to extend the lead to nine, 20-11. Alabama State fought off a pair of set points late, but Barrett closed the set with a kill for a 25-15 Tiger win.
 
SET FOUR
A couple of Auburn miscues and three Alabama State kills quickly built a 5-1 Lady Hornet lead and forced a Tiger timeout. Auburn batted back to toe the set up at 13-all before taking a two-point lead off kills from Reich and Rath. Alabama State answered with three straight kills to force a second Auburn timeout. The two teams continued to trade points down the stretch as an Auburn block tied the set at 24-all. An Auburn attack error and an Alabama State kill put the set away, 26-24, for the Lady Hornets.
 
SET FIVE
The two squads traded points throughout the entire set, as neither team was able to muster more than a two-point lead. After trading three service errors to lock the set at 14-all, Alabama State totaled a block and kill to win the set, 16-14, and the match.

UP NEXT
Auburn will face its first top-25 opponent as the Tigers trek to No. 21 Tennessee on Wednesday. First serve on the SEC Network is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT.