AUBURN, AL — The Auburn Tigers (13-11) volleyball team played host to the South Carolina Gamecocks (14-11) on Wednesday night where the Tigers were swept by a score of 3-0.
The Tigers came into the match after splitting a two game series on the road in College Station, Texas against the Texas A&M Aggies. Auburn lost the first match against the Aggies, but picked up its first ever win at Texas A&M.
South Carolina traveled to The Plains after splitting a two game SEC series themselves, with the defending national champions Kentucky Wildcats. South Carolina picked up a win against a top-five team for the first time all season.
This match between Auburn and South Carolina was just a one game series, despite the usual trend this season within the SEC where teams play each opponent twice.
The Gamecocks took control early in set one, jumping out to a quick 9-4 lead before Tigers head coach Brent Crouch called an early timeout.
Auburn rallied back throughout set one, but the comeback effort fell short with a South Carolina 25-23 victory in set one.
South Carolina continued their dominant play into set two, where they had control from the first serve to the last serve with a 25-13 set two victory.
Auburn attempted a solid comeback effort in set three, as the set went back and forth with the Tigers and Gamecocks trading points.
But Riley Whitesides and Mallory Dixon for South Carolina were both too much to handle as they led the way with kills and service aces respectfully. Whitesides had 14 kills on the night to lead all players, while Dixon had seven service aces for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina went on to win set three despite the constant fight from Auburn by a score of 25-22 to win the match in three straight sets.
Rebekah Rath led the way for the Tigers with 10 kills, two digs and a block, while the Tigers only recorded two service aces on the night from Elif Yavuz and Kate Curtis.
Up next for South Carolina, the Gamecocks will travel to Gainesville, FL for a two match series against the Florida Gators on Nov. 20 and Nov. 21.
For Auburn, the Tigers will also travel to Gainesville on Wednesday, Nov. 17 for a single match against the Gators before returning home and hosting the No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats inside Auburn Arena on Nov. 20 and Nov. 21.
Both games against the Wildcats will be broadcasted live on WEGL 91.1 FM and on WEGLFM.com, in conjunction with the Auburn Sports Network.
