Last Wednesday the women's volleyball team closed out its season with a match against Georgia.
The Auburn Tigers fell to the Bulldogs 3-2. Both teams were battling for a fifth place finish in the SEC.
Auburn won the first game 25-23 with kills from outside hitters Katherine Culwell and Morgan Johns.
In the second game, Johns, Sarah Bullock and Alyssa Davis led the team in kills, but a final Georgia run solidified a 25-21 win for the Bulldogs.
Auburn came close to winning the third game with a 22-17 advantage over Georgia, but the Bulldogs rallied to win the set 25-18.
In the fourth set, kills by Culwell and Johns and a service ace from MacKenzy Harper gave the Tigers the lead.
Several kills and blocks by Davis and Courtney McDonald guaranteed an Auburn win 25-18. After a long battle, Auburn fell to Georgia in the final set 15-12.
"It was a good match and it was any team's win to take," said head coach Wade Benson in a press release. "I thought our team fought really hard, but couldn't come out on top."
Bullock earned 12 match kills and 10 digs while sophomore Christina Solverson finished with 25 match assists and 12 digs.
Both earned their eighth double-double of the season.
Johns finished with 13 kills, junior Liz Crouch with 17 digs, and Davis had a team best of 5 blocks.
Auburn finished its season with a 16-15 overall record and an 8-12 finish in the SEC.
With the win over Auburn, Georgia will advance to playoffs which begin Dec. 3. The Bulldogs currently have an 18-13 record with a 9-11 finish in the SEC.
Auburn concluded its season as the second ranked team in the SEC West, just behind LSU. Georgia finished its regular season fourth in the SEC East.
Auburn fell to Georgia earlier this season, 3-2.
"Our team has definitely improved greatly since the last time we played Georgia," Crouch said.
Although Auburn did not advance to playoffs, the team had its best season in 10 years. The 1999 season was Auburn's best with a 19-11 overall record and an 8-7 record in the SEC. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 73 in the NCAA standings.
"Our finish was bittersweet," said junior Lauren Mellor. "Having a season with eight SEC wins compared to how we ended last year is awesome. It was a little disheartening to know that we could have had even more wins, but when you step back and look at our entire season and at Auburn's history, I'm really proud of what our team has done."
Monday Sarah Bullock was named to the All-SEC freshman team.
Bullock closed out the season with a team high of 296 kills on 889 attempts. She carries the team best of 11 solo blocks and totaled 275 season digs.
"I'm very proud of Sarah and the growth she has made this year," Benson said. "She has many more awards ahead of her with continued focus in the future."
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