CHICAGO — Auburn volleyball opened its weekend in Chicago with a straight-set victory over UIC Friday night. The Tigers battled through a long opening set before a dominant second set lit the way for a three-set victory. Junior outside hitter Anastasija Ivkovic had a career night with a career-best seven blocks with eight kills.
The Tigers opened the match on a 6-0 streak, looking to dominate early on. UIC battled back to tie the opening set at 11-11 before taking a lead into the media timeout, 15-13. The Tigers battled back to tie, then traded points to multiple ties until 21-21. UIC took a 23-21 lead, then held set point, but a huge dig from Symone Sims kept the set alive, leading to a Tiger point on a Belle Patrick kill. Two more Patrick kills clinched the opening set for Auburn. Patrick recorded nine kills in the opening frame.
Set two opened to a 5-3 UIC lead, before Patrick led a six-point Auburn run with two kills and two aces. The Tigers went on to dominate the set, driven by a 12-3 run to take a 21-10 lead. Another 4-1 run finished out the set to a 25-13 victory. Kate Mansfield stuffed the UIC attack four times in the second set to go along with a pair of kills. Auburn recorded four aces in the set.
UIC took another early set lead, up 7-4 and 10-7 before a five-point Auburn run gave the Tigers the lead. The teams traded points, never separated by more than a point until Auburn took a 21-18 lead on back-to-back blocks by Havlicek and Ivkovic. The Tigers reached set point on Patrick’s team-high 16th kill of the match. Auburn clinched the set and match on an attack error by UIC.
NOTABLES
- Ivkovic recorded a career-high seven blocks.
- Havlicek tied a career high with eight kills, the fourth time she’s reached the mark.
- Greer Chambless recorded her first career solo block.
- Mansfield tied her season-high with five blocks.
TIGER STANDOUTS
- Ivkovic’s seven blocks were a career high and a team-high for the match. Ivkovic hit .368 with eight kills on 19 attempts with just one error.
- Patrick led the Tigers with 16 kills, her second-highest mark of the season. Patrick added a pair of aces and a block to her .406 performance.
- Havlicek started the match 7-for-7 on attacks. The junior middle blocker ended the night with eight kills and six blocks. Havlicek hit .600 for the match on 10 kills, while also leading Auburn with three aces.
- Mansfield joined the block party, logging five blocks of her own with four kills.
- Eickenloff led the Tigers with 24 assists.
- Keiran returned to her starting spot as the libero, leading Auburn with 13 digs.
HEAD COACH BRENT CROUCH
- “I’m happy to start the weekend with a win and continue the momentum on the road. I would’ve liked to see a more consistent effort throughout the match, but I am happy with the way we responded in the second set. We’ve got some adjustments to make ahead of the rest of the trip.”
UP NEXT
- Auburn Volleyball heads to the DePaul Invitational, taking on Central Michigan tomorrow, September 12 at noon. The Tigers will then face the Blue Demons of DePaul at 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 13.
—War Eagle—