Behind sophomore Anna Stevenson's 13 kills and senior outside hitter Brenna McIlroy's seven, Auburn volleyball began its season with a 3-0 sweep of High Point on Friday evening.
The Tigers started off slow in the first set but rallied to scrape by with a 25-21 win.
“It took us a little while to make some adjustments," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "But I like the fact that each game towards the end we started making plays.”
Auburn claimed the second set 25-19, gaining some confidence going into what would be a thrilling extra-point third set.
With four lead changes in the third set Auburn had to rally from behind to defeat High Point 28-26.
This Auburn team is young, with only two seniors on the roster, including McIlroy, who showed poise and experience with a well-rounded stat sheet of 10 digs, seven kills and two assists. Freshman newcomers Mica Allison, a setter, and defensive specialist/libero Bella Rosenthall factored in heavily in two major roles for the Tigers.
“She is basically running the show for us,” Nold said of Allison. “And you never know how someone will respond to it, but I love what she did.”
Allison finished her first official game as a Tiger with 33 assists, eight digs and three kills, while her fellow freshman Rosenthall finished with 17 digs and one assist.
“It’s a tough thing, you get out here and it’s a completely different environment,” Nold said. “You put them in different situations and it’s something they’re going to keep learning from and keep growing.”
Allison and Rosenthall will continue their freshman campaign as Auburn looks to claim its second victory tomorrow against Michigan.
As far as improvements for tomorrow’s matchup in the War Eagle Invitational, Nold said the Tigers need to “take care of some of the easier balls.”
“We struggled to put some of those away,” Nold said. “When we have (High Point) in tough situations we have to be able to transition.”
High Point, which will face Michigan tomorrow morning, was led by Abby Broadstreet and Molly Livingston with eight kills each.
Fans can catch the Tigers in action tomorrow against Michigan at 7 p.m. CST in Auburn Arena. The showdown will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.
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