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(10/11/12 11:21am)
After two tough road losses at the hands of Arkansas and Kentucky, the Auburn volleyball team returned home Oct. 5 and quickly dispatched the visiting Mississippi State Bulldogs in three straight sets, improving its record to 13-4 (4-3 in SEC).Senior Sarah Bullock continued her run of successful play, leading the dominant Tigers with 12 kills.Junior Katherine Culwell recorded nine kills to go along with a match-leading nine digs."Our mindset was to take care of business," Bullock said. "After coming off of two straight losses, we worked really hard this week in practice on improving our game. We were focused more this week on our energy, cutting down mistakes, serving aggressively, winning the serve and pass game... we put more emphasis on improving us this week, and it showed."\0x1FThe rest of the scoring opportunities were spread out amongst the rest of the Auburn roster as nine different Tigers registered points in the dominating win.Head coach Rick Nold said after the match he was pleased with his team's balanced attack."Sometimes we get in the habit of throwing a lot of balls outside, but we've got to get more people involved," Nold said. "It's something that we will continue to work at, try to get better at as the year goes on. We want to refine our offense so we can attack different teams in different ways. We got a chance to show that tonight."Auburn jumped out to an early 8-2 lead before Mississippi State called its first timeout.By the time Mississippi State called its second timeout, Auburn was on a 7-0 run and leading 16-5.\0x1FThe Tigers forced an astonishing 10 Bulldog attack errors and registered 12 kills en route to a commanding 25-11 first-set victory.The Tigers would take an even larger victory in set two as they raced past the visitors 25-10.\0x1FThe 15-point differential is Auburn's largest margin of victory this season.\0x1FThe Tigers' balanced attack combined for a .400 hitting percentage with four Tigers scoring multiple kills.Mississippi State tried to inch back late in the set, but Auburn's Chloe Rowand quickly sent the match to intermission with two powerful kills.\0x1FThe visiting Bulldogs looked energized following the break, and they hung with the Tigers through the first half of the final set.However, Auburn broke away at the halfway point, rallying around Culwell, who scored seven of her nine total kills in the final set.The Tigers kept the energy up following a Mississippi State timeout, scoring 10 of the final 14 points to finish off their division rivals."I think it was important to come back and respond after last weekend," Nold said. "Mississippi State got us both times last year, so it's good to see the improvement we've made this season.\0x1F They're struggling a little bit right now, and we were able to take advantage."Auburn continued its undefeated streak at home in 2012, improving to 6-0 at the Student Activities Center this season.It was a rare one-match homestand for the Tigers, as the team got an extra day off by not having to play the usual Sunday match."(\0x1FThe break) is good for us," Culwell said. "We'll have three full days of practice next week before going out on the road. We usually only get two days of practice before traveling, so having this extra day is great."The win over Mississippi State put the Tigers above .500 in divisional play, and the Tigers are now third in the SEC West behind Texas A&M and Arkansas.\0x1FThe win was crucial for Auburn because of the team's recent struggles against SEC opponents.Of the team's four losses this season, three have come at the hands of conference opponents with the only non-conference loss coming at Wichita State.Auburn will only play SEC opponents for the remainder of the season.\0x1FThe team now looks to carry its momentum on the road as it takes on Georgia in Athens Oct. 12 and nationally ranked Florida in Gainesville Saturday, Oct. 14.
(10/03/12 11:37am)
On Sept. 21, the Auburn women's volleyball team rallied from a 1-0 deficit to win the final three sets and hand South Carolina its first loss of the season, 3-1 (25-27, 25-16, 25-18, 25-22).
Senior outside hitter Sarah Bullock and junior outside hitter Katherine Culwell led the Tigers' strong attack. Bullock posted a team high 20 kills and grabbed her fourth double-double of the season by adding 13 digs. Culwell finished with 19 kills and 12 digs, her second double-double of the season.
Auburn coach Rick Nold was happy with the way his team responded after dropping the first set then coming back to sweep the Gamecocks in the final three sets.
"They're a great team," Nold said. "Defensively, they put a lot of pressure on us, especially early. I thought the biggest thing we did to change the tide a bit was serve and serve-receive."
Auburn also saw strong performances from junior setter Chelsea Wintzinger and freshman setter Ciara Richards.
Wintzinger recorded 28 assists and 12 digs, while Richards added 27 assists and 14 digs.
South Carolina (13-1, 2-1 SEC) took a close first set 27-25 thanks to the Gamecocks' freshman opposite hitter Sarah Blomgren, who put down the set-winning kill. South Carolina's junior outside hitter Juliette Thevenin led with seven kills in the set.
In the second set, Auburn (11-2, 2-1 SEC) rallied after falling behind 4-0. The Tigers recorded five service aces and went on an 11-1 run--ultimately winning the set 25-16.
Junior middle blocker Camila Jersonsky and Katherine Culwell led the Tigers with four kills each.
Nold said it was important to get their service game going after losing the first set early.
"We were serving aggressively, but almost right to them in game one," he said. "They're a good passing team, and we started mixing some things up on serve to get them out of system," Nold said.
In the third set, a kill from South Carolina's senior setter Taylor Bruns made it 19-16, but the Tigers went on a 6-3 run to come away with a 25-18 win, thanks to 19 team kills and seven kills apiece from Bullock and Culwell.
In the fourth set, the Gamecocks made it 22-20 thanks to a kill by Thevenin, but the Tigers held on and found the match-winning points, thanks to a kill by Auburn junior middle blocker Chloe Rowand and a service error by the Gamecock's Thevenin. Bullock led the Tigers with six kills and one block in the set.
Sept. 23, Bullock's 1,000th career dig served as a turning point for a second win as the Auburn volleyball team defeated Alabama for the sixth consecutive time, three sets to one.
The senior became the fifth player to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in Auburn volleyball history. The landmark dig, which came in a tightly contested third set, set up a point that gave Auburn a 15-13 lead. The team continued the momentum from Bullock's achievement,, winning 25-21. That win gave Auburn a 2-1 lead, and the Tigers quickly dispatched their bitter rivals in the fourth and final set, 25-18.
"I couldn't have asked for anything better," said Bullock, who posted team highs of 16 kills and 15 digs in the win. "I got my 1,000th dig in my last game at home against Alabama. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect scenario. This is what I've been striving for my whole career, and it's finally come true. I'm ecstatic."
Bullock, Culwell, Jersonsky and Courtney McDonald led the way for the Tigers as all four finished the match with double-digit kills. Culwell joined Bullock in double-double honors, registering 14 kills and 13 digs.
The victory was enjoyed by the third-largest crowd in Auburn history, as 1,146 fans filled the Student Activities Center Sunday afternoon.
"It's awesome to see that. We had a huge crowd here well before the match," Nold said afterward. "Our fans mean a lot to us. They help us through tough points and keep our energy going, so [the crowd] is something that we definitely need. It's great when we see that there aren't any seats left."
The Tigers took control of the match in the very first set, winning 25-19. Both teams traded points at the beginning of the set, but Auburn was able to take advantage of some Alabama miscues and race out to a 17-12 lead. Culwell led the way for the Tigers in the first set, registering six of her 13 kills in the opening frame.
But Alabama was able to equalize before intermission, winning a close second set 25-23. Auburn looked somewhat flat after its opening win, and the visitors were able to grab seven of the set's first nine points. Excellent serving and passing from Alabama's players gave them an early advantage they never relinquished.
The Tigers were able to get on a small run late in the set, but a thunderous kill from Alabama's Katherine White silenced the near-record crowd and squashed any Auburn comeback hopes.
Nold said the team made some big adjustments in intermission that led to their commanding wins in sets three and four.
"We didn't think that our energy was where it needed to be," he said. "We were giving them a lot of unforced errors; we had a lot that we needed to clean up on our side. We needed to come out and be more efficient on offense and adjust to what they were doing offensively. So we made those adjustments, and I think it made a big difference."
This four-set victory over Alabama brings Auburn's overall record to 12-2 and its conference record to 3-1. Just two weeks into conference play, Auburn has surpassed last season's 11-win total.
(09/20/12 11:48am)
The Auburn women's soccer team dropped its first two conference games Friday, Sept. 14, and Saturday, Sept. 15, losing 2-0 to 13th-ranked Missouri and 2-1 in overtime vs. Florida.
Against Missouri, long distance goals from Missouri's Kaysie Clark and Haley Krentz separated the two Tiger teams.
"Missouri did a better job of executing their gameplan and playing the way they wanted to play," Auburn coach Karen Hoppa said after the game. "We needed to connect more passes and be more effective offensively."
After non-conference wins over Auburn in 2008 and 2009, the Tigers from Columbia, Mo., celebrated their first win as a member of the SEC on Friday.
Despite allowing two goals, Auburn goalkeeper Amy Howard kept Auburn in the game with nine saves.
The defending SEC Defensive Player of the Week has made 19 saves in Auburn's last two matches.
"She was very good again tonight," Hoppa said. "Nine saves is a really high number. She saw a lot of shots, and I think that [Missouri's] two goals were really quality finishes."
Clark's 29th-minute goal, a low shot that took an awkward bounce at the last moment, broke the 0-0 deadlock and gave Missouri a lead Auburn was never able to overcome.
After trading good shots and quality possession with the conference newcomers, Auburn suffered from too many turnovers for the rest of the opening period.
The second half started off with more dominating play from Missouri.
Krentz doubled Missouri's lead in the 52nd minute with a 22-yard strike that was just out of Howard's diving reach.
From that point until the final whistle, Auburn looked determined to score.
Near misses and shots off the woodwork gave fans hope, but to the dismay of the newly christened student section, Hoppa's Hooligans, and the rest of the crowd at the Auburn Soccer Complex, none of those chances materialized into a goal.
"We had our opportunities," Hoppa said. "We hit a couple of crossbars, had an empty net chance that we missed. We had our chances, but we just didn't finish."
Auburn had a better showing against Florida and took the lead early, but junior forward Adriana Leon's long distance goal with 32 seconds left in the first overtime period completed No. 13 Florida's comeback, and the Tigers lost 2-1.
"I thought we did a good job with patience in our defense," Hoppa said. "We kept them in front of us... they're such a good possession team, you just have to give them that. You're not going to out-possess Florida, they're too good on the ball. I thought we were patient and the goal scored was great, exactly what we were trying to do. Unfortunately, we couldn't finish our other opportunities and Florida did."
Senior forward Mary Coffed put Auburn up, 1-0, in the fifth minute, when she finessed a shot low into the right corner past Florida goalkeeper Taylor Burke.
Sophomore forward Tatiana Coleman did a good job beating her defender on the right wing before sending a low cross into the box to Coffed for the assist.
The goal was Coffed's 14th of her career and third of the season.
Auburn took the 1-0 lead into halftime, but the Tigers were unable to keep up with Florida's dominating possession in the second half.
In the 73rd minute, Florida (4-3-1, 1-1-0 SEC) found the equalizer from senior midfielder Holly King.
Senior defender Jo Dragotta was credited with the assist after sending a free kick into the box where King was able to connect and slide the ball past Howard.
Auburn created several chances to go ahead in the final minutes of regulation, but was unable to find a finish.
Their best chance came in the 90th minute when the ball was crossed in from the right wing forcing Florida's Burke to make a diving save.
The rebound was loose in the box, but cleared away by Florida defenders before an Auburn player could possess it.
Florida won in overtime after Leon dribbled to the top of the box, following an Auburn foul, and fired a low shot past Howard into the left corner.
"They played a quick free kick and they transitioned out of the foul quicker than we did. We left her open and they punished us for it," Hoppa said.
Of the nine games Auburn has played this season, five have been decided by a single goal.
Auburn's record in those games is 2-3-0.
Auburn defeated Florida 3-2 last year to win the SEC Tournament, but this year, Auburn has fallen to an overall record of 4-5-0, 0-2-0 in the SEC.
The Tigers travel to Baton Rouge, La., to play LSU Friday, Sept. 21 for the first SEC road test of the season.
The Tigers then head west to challenge Texas A&M.
(09/10/12 11:20am)
For the last two seasons, fans of the Auburn volleyball team have seen the best from star middle blocker Camila Jersonsky. \0x10The junior from Buenos Aires, Argentina has continued her stellar play into the 2012 season, helping lead the Tigers to a perfect 6-0 start.
"I have a lot of pride in my game, so I focus on doing my best every time I step on the court," Jersonsky said.
"She's a big part of the way we want to run our offense," head coach Rick Nold said. "We like to run things through our middles. It just make things easier for our other hitters. She can go up against single blocks, double blocks; in any situation, we feel confident in giving her the ball."
Jersonsky started out the season in award winning fashion two weekends ago at the Green Bay Tournament. In the team's wild win over defending MAC champions Central Michigan and a dominating sweep of Drake, she registered a combined 15 kills.
But Jersonsky saved the best for last. She recorded a career-high 18 kills in Auburn's win over tournament host Wisconsin-Green Bay. \0x10Those kills came off of only 34 attacks, giving her a hitting percentage of .471. \0x10Those game stats are even more impressive when you consider that the Tigers' tournament-clinching win was a three-set sweep.
After that match, Jersonsky was named to the All-Tournament team and received the Most Valuable Player award.
"It's always an honor when you win an individual award, but it was mostly a team effort," Jersonsky said. "If the passes aren't there, there's no way that I can get the kills. The passes from my teammates were right there every time."
She continued to be an asset for Auburn in last weekend's War Eagle Invitational, getting 22 kills and another all-tournament honor.
The junior brings a great deal of experience to the Tigers' squad, both in NCAA play and international competition.
In fact, her great play as a member of the Argentinian national team helped bring her to the University.
"I was playing with the national team in Miami at the Pan American Cup," Jersonsky said. "I just happened to sit next to the Auburn coaches while watching one of the other games. We started talking, and they were like, 'Have you considered the possibility of coming to the U.S. and playing college volleyball?' I had been thinking about it, and we started sending emails back and forth after the Cup. I made my official visit to Auburn and loved it."
After signing with the Tigers, Jersonsky burst onto the SEC volleyball scene as a true freshman, earning conference All-Freshman honors in Auburn's Cinderella run to the 2010 NCAA tournament. In 2011, despite missing several games due to injury and international competition, Jersonsky led the Tigers in hitting percentage and blocks.
Auburn will look to Jersonsky at the upcoming SMU Doubletree Classic and next weekend's SEC opener at Mississippi State. If they can carry this early momentum into the bulk of the season, we could see another NCAA tournament for Jersonsky and the rest of the Tigers.