MADISON, Wisc. – The Auburn volleyball team kicked off its portion of the Big Ten/SEC Challenge with a 3-1 (25-12, 21-25, 25-16, 26-24) loss to No. 11 Minnesota Tuesday night in UW Field House on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.
The Tigers (3-1) were led by juniors Lauren Dreves and Belle Patrick as the pair picked up their second double-doubles on the year. Dreves had a team best 19 kills to tie a season high and finished with a match high 18 digs. Patrick followed with 11 kills and tied a career high with 14 digs.
Auburn totaled eight blocks with junior Kate Mansfield leading the way, having five on the night. Dreves and Puetz added three each with junior Grace Havlicek having two. Sophomore setter Carson Eickenloff had a team-high 31 assists and Puetz came off the bench to finish with 10.
After a quick two kills by Patrick in the first, the Gophers strung together a 6-1 run to go up 8-6. Minnesota capitalized on strong serving and blocking later in the set, going on a 9-0 rally for a 20-9 advantage and the Gophers took the set, 25-12.
The Tigers regrouped in the second and came out swinging, finishing the set with a .455 hitting clip. Kills from Dreves and Patrick put the Tigers ahead 6-3 and a Dreves kill sent the Tigers on a four-point push to go up 13-8. Kill No. 8 of the set for Dreves put Auburn up 22-18 and a Dreves/Mansfield block made it set point. A big Mansfield swing gave Auburn the set, 25-21.
Minnesota regained momentum early in the third, going up 10-2. The Tigers started to chip away with big blocks from Mansfield and company (11-7), but the Gophers used a 9-2 run to take a 20-9 lead. The Gophers won the set, 25-16.
The early parts of the fourth was an exchange of points before a Havlicek/Patrick block pushed Auburn to a 9-8 lead. Smart play at the net by Mansfield led to a 13-11 lead for the Tigers and kills by Havlicek and Dreves made it 17-14. The Gophers wouldn’t back down and came back go aheadat 23-21. Auburn tied it up at 23-apiece, but Minnesota went on to take the match, 26-24.
The Tigers close out their trip to Wisconsin Wednesday night, taking on host and No. 5 Wisconsin at 7 p.m. CT in the UW Field House.
HEAD COACH BRENT CROUCH
“When we were doing well in serve receive, our offense would fired on all cylinders and be hard to stop. We had some really good moments tonight and had a lot of positives to take away. We just need to work on that first touch and we’ll be in a good spot.”
MATCH NOTES
-Lauren Dreves and Belle Patrick each had their second double-doubles of the year.
-Dreves tied her season best with 19 kills and set a season high with 18 digs.
-Patrick tied her career high in digs with 14.
-Dreves reached 100 career blocks, having three on the night.
Auburn falls to No. 11 Minnesota, 3-1, in Big Ten/SEC Challenge
The Auburn volleyball team kicked off its portion of the Big Ten/SEC Challenge with a 3-1 (25-12, 21-25, 25-16, 26-24) loss to No. 11 Minnesota Tuesday night in UW Field House on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.
