AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn Volleyball lost in three sets to No. 4 Florida 25-17, 25-20, 25-23 on Friday night. The Tigers played a pair of competitive sets in the latter two sets of the match, highlighted by the blocking of Grace Havlicek and Kate Mansfield. The pairing of Havlicek and Mansfield combined on four blocks, including three consecutive plays to lead a charge in the third set. The Florida attack was ultimately too strong for the Tigers to overcome, hitting .209 as a team.
Florida's Logan King had a match-high 17 kills, hitting .317. The Gator setter Taylor Parks had a dominant match with 39 assists and seven blocks, including three solo blocks. Parks also had five kills on nine errorless attacks.
Florida jumped ahead early in the opening set with a four-point run powered by three King kills, taking a 7-2 lead. The Gators carried a 15-10 lead into the media timeout, then expanded it to a seven-point lead at 18-11, forcing an Auburn timeout. Florida cruised to the set victory from there, clinching the opening frame on a Kamryn Chaney kill, 25-17. King guided Florida through the set with seven kills, followed by Chaney's seven kills.
Auburn opened the second set with a 4-1 lead, but Florida responded with a 8-3 run, capped by a four-point run to take a 9-7 lead. Florida continued its momentum, growing its lead to four heading into the technical timeout at 15-11. A block from Brooklyn Briscoe and Taylor Parks finished a three-point run for the Gators, giving Florida a 22-15 lead. Auburn made a late charge at the set, pulling within four points before Alec Rothe finished the set 25-20 for the Gators.
Florida stormed out of the gates in the third set, taking a 5-0 lead and forcing the Tigers to call an early timeout. The Gators continued to dominate the opening of the set, taking a 9-2 lead. Auburn rallied, coming back and taking a 17-16 lead in the set with an 8-1 run, highlighted by three consecutive blocks from Mansfield and Havlicek. Auburn carried a 21-18 lead into Florida's second timeout of the set after a block by Emma Moore and Mansfield. The Gators responded out of their timeout, using a 6-1 run to flip the set and serve for match point. King clinched the match for the Gators, surviving an Auburn challenge on the final play of the match.
NOTABLES
- Belle Patrick had 10 kills, her fourth consecutive match with double-digit kills.
- Carson Eickenloff had her team-high fifth double-double of the season.
- Shanelle Peutz recorded her first double-double of the season with a season-high 10 digs to go with her 11 assists.
- Both Auburn setters notched double-doubles in a game for the first time this season.
- Havlicek's seven blocks were her most in SEC play.
- The Tigers' 12 blocks were tied for the most in a three-set match this season.
- Auburn had 52 digs, the most in a three-set match this year.
TIGER STANDOUTS
- Mansfield's six blocks were her most since blocking Kentucky eight times. Mansfield had five kills on 21 attempts.
- Moore had three kills on six attempts with four total blocks.
- Havlicek led Auburn with seven blocks.
- Lauren Dreves had eight kills and nine digs. She was a perfect 22-of-22 on receptions.
HEAD COACH BRENT CROUCH
- "I thought we looked solid for the majority of the match, keeping it close with one of the best teams in the country, a team that has a real shot at winning the toughest conference in the country. Need to clean up a lot of things on the attack with the errors. Also, not our best passing night from our hitters, so we couldn't put our setters in situations to lead to kills. It's hard to do a lot of great things when you have No. 4 [Florida] on the other side of the net. Overall, the new rotation is still rolling for us, so we'll see what it can do on Sunday against Oklahoma."
UP NEXT
- Auburn welcomes Oklahoma to the Plains for the first time ever. The Tigers and Sooners are set for a 2 p.m. match on Sunday, Nov. 1. The match will be televised on SEC Network.
—War Eagle—