The Auburn volleyball team returned home Friday night to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in a volleyball/men's basketball doubleheader at Auburn Arena.
A comfortable Arkansas' offense took the Tigers 3-0 (19-25, 17-25, 21-25).
"I think they did a good job at staying in system and putting balls down," freshman Macy Reese said. "We needed to execute our game plan better."
Reese posted a team-high nine kills, while freshman Courtney Crable chipped in eight.
Alexa Filley had 28 assists on the night. The freshman ranks second in Auburn single-season history with 900 assists. She needs 96 more to have the top spot in the record book.
Both teams started out hot offensively, but after a short media timeout with the Tigers down 15-12, the Razorback's hammered the hardwood shot after shot to take the first set 25-19.
"I think a lot of the game, even though we weren't down by very much, we felt like there was a bigger gap than there actually was, and we were kind of playing timid and scared instead of just going out there and playing our game," Filley said.
Arkansas used their first-set momentum to take an early 5-0 lead in the second. An Auburn block and a Razorback attack error trimmed the deficit down to 16-13, but the Razorbacks ran away with it 17-25 going into the locker room.
"It's something that definitely starts with our serving and passing," head coach Rick Nold said. "I think serving wise we too often allowed them to get in an easy rhythm, and then on our side obviously we've got to handle the ball. We got to give ourselves some assists and opportunities. Throughout the match that was a struggle for us."
The Razorbacks played with a comfortable lead most of the third set. A kill from Crable closed the deficit to 21-16 before the Tigers dropped the final set 21-25.
Arkansas' Meredith Hays led the way for the Razorbacks with 13 kills and 10 digs.
Auburn takes the court next in a matchup with Tennessee Sunday afternoon at Auburn Arena.
"We got to come out ready to compete," Nold said. "We talked about that in the locker room. We got good teams that we're going to play every week. It takes us coming out and expecting our best, preparing for our best, and it's a lot of little stuff that you got to make sure that you're doing every time. If you're going to back off a little bit, a team is going to take advantage of you."
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