Auburn fell short, three matches to one, against SEC rival Tennessee on Friday night in Auburn Arena. The Tigers are now 7-4 on the season after falling in their first SEC match.
Auburn started the first match off strong with 18 kills, defeating the Vols 25-22. Auburn claimed a quick lead in the first set and did not let up. This would be the Tigers' only victory of the night as the Vols claimed the next three sets straight.
Taylor Rowland and Brenna McIlroy led the Tigers offense with 11 and 15 kills respectively. Shaina White also added 5 kills for the Tigers.
In set two, the Tigers fell short with a final score of 25-12 Tennessee. Tennessee was led by Tessa Grubbs with 17 kills and Addisyn Rowe with 13.
Tennessee also claimed the next two sets too seal the victory with scores of 25-21 and 25-13.
Great energy in that first set, but lost it quickly as the match went on," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said.
Last week’s SEC Freshman of the Week, Bella Rosenthall, led the team with 14 digs in the match overall. Rosenthall also had 3 assists on the night.
Setter Mica Allison had 34 assists helping out the Tigers offensively with a .306 completion percentage.
Throughout the night, there were eight ties and three lead changes, all coming in the third, and fourth matches.
Auburn will look to rebound against in-state rival Alabama on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT in Tuscaloosa. The game will be televised on SEC Network.
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