Auburn volleyball's first door to open of the 2017 season was of the Hyatt Regency Inviational, an event that began with a match against host squad Georgia Tech.
The Auburn women opted to kick down that door, as the Tigers completed a clean sweep of the Yellow Jackets on Friday to start the year with a 3-0 victory (25-18, 25-13, 25-18.)
The Tigers (1-0) dominated up front with a hitting percentage of .422, while holding Georgia Tech to .109 clip.
"The team played aggressive tonight and it really showed," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "Our passing and serving gave us great opportunities and allowed us to spread out the offense. It was a great start to the season for this team."
Brenda McIlroy led the charge for the Tigers with 12 kills on just 23 attempts, leading to a .478 attack percentage. Freshman Anna Stevenson tallied six kills, sophomore Gwyn Jones had seven and senior Macy Reece topped off the offense with eight. Senior setter Alexa Filley picked up five kills of her own to go along with her 34 assists.
Georgia Tech (0-1) grabbed the early lead in the opening set, but two four-point runs shifted the lead back to the Tigers before a kill by Jones served as the set point.
In set two, Auburn controlled from start to finish, hitting .500 and suffocating the Yellow Jackets to the tune of a 0.87 percentage.
Set three remained neck-and-neck until Stevenson powered in kills five and six to take a five-point lead.
The Tigers will head back to O'Keefe Gym on Saturday, first facing off against No. 17 Michigan State at 11 a.m. CST and capping with Furman at 5 p.m. CST.
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.
