If the two previous games were the cake then Saturday afternoon's massacre was the icing. The Auburn volleyball team swept Alabama A&M, 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-9), Saturday at the Student Activities Center. With its undefeated status the team won the War Eagle Invitational Tournament.
Offensively, Auburn had a .487 hitting percent, while their counterparts held a .158 hitting percent.
The Tigers also had four times as many aces as the Bulldogs. A&M had 16 errors to Auburn's six.
Auburn junior Morgan Johns led the team in kills with 12 and had a .600 hitting percentage to go along with no errors. Christina Solversone led the team in assists with 30.
Defensively, Liz Crouch led the team with 12 digs and Auburn had three blocks as a team.
In front of a crowd of more than 450 people the Auburn Tigers seemed to wear out their opponents with each set. Auburn got into a rhythm in the second set and never looked back, limiting the Bulldogs to only 21 points and more than doubling their kills.
Wade Benson, Auburn's head coach, said Auburn played a solid game, but there was still room for improvement.
"I thought it was a great start for this team," Benson said. "Our upperclassmen played solid and our freshmen were pretty sound. We played a great tournament, but the team needs to keep it all in perspective and continue to improve."
This year's team also features an influx of freshmen and heading into the tournament Benson said he was unsure of how the freshmen would react to the pressure and responsibility of playing in college.
Benson said although the freshmen played well, easy mistakes were still being made -- they had more errors as a class than the rest of the team combined.
However he was pleased by their overall performance and said he feels that Auburn's freshmen give them a chance at winning every game.
Freshman Katherine Culwell received MVP for the tournament.
"I'm really happy for this team because we wanted to come out and make a name for ourselves," Culwell said. "We all did our jobs this weekend of getting off to a good season."
Junior Liz Crouch also commented on the new team, and said although the team doesn't have any seniors she knows that the juniors will be able to step up.
"There's more of a foundation this year," Crouch said.
Auburn Ignited, the new student ticket program, helped carry the Tigers toward victory. When Auburn got momentum the crowd helped them keep it going. Both Crouch and Benson noticed this and are excited to see big crowds at upcoming games.
The team heads back to work when it hosts Troy this Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Student Activities Center.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
