In a weekend where the Tigers played both Bulldogs of the SEC on the road, Auburn only came away with one win.
The weekend started off with a 3-1 loss to Mississippi State on Friday, Sept. 30. The Tigers went to Starkville, Mississippi, and put up a tough fight, but the Bulldogs were too resilient.
Mississippi State had a trio of attackers in double digits. Emily Hill had 24 kills, while Evie Grace Singleton finished with 18 and Jelena Vujcin had 11. Setter Blossom Sato had 45 assists and 16 digs and libero Cheyenne Spell added 16 digs.
For Auburn, Gwyn Jones tied her career high in kills with 14. Breanna Barksdale had 13 kills while Brenna McIlroy had 11.
The Tigers won the first set, but Mississippi State won the next three, handing Auburn its ninth loss.
It was a different story against Georgia, however. The Tigers beat the Bulldogs of Georgia 3-1, improving the team’s record to 8-9 on the season and 2-2 in SEC play.
Brenna McIlroy had herself yet another personal record breaking game. She finished with a career best 21 kills, while having a .417 hitting percentage for Auburn. Jones also had a career-high 15 kills.
The match was an uphill battle for Georgia right from the start. After opening set one with a 4-0 lead, Auburn later pushed an 8-1 run to go ahead 16-7.
A kill by Crable made it 20-10 and one from Jones put Auburn up 22-12. A pair of kills by McIlroy and a service ace from Earl lifted the Tigers to a 25-13 win.
Auburn would win the second stanza, going up 2-0. Georgia would win the third stanza, but the Tigers would close it out in the fourth, winning it 25-20.
“We did a good job getting Georgia out of system with our serving,” Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. We saw some good passing from our back row and I think Alexa [Filley] did good job spreading offense for us."
Auburn returns back home as the team hosts Missouri and rival Alabama. The two Tiger Teams will play at 7 p.m. CST, Oct. 7. Auburn faces the Crimson Tide at 1:30 p.m. CST on Oct. 9.
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