Volleyball Earns Two Wins in Auburn Invitational

Emily Klitzke (Photo: Auburn Athletics/Dakota Sumpter)

Auburn Volleyball picked up two key wins over the weekend, by defeating Memphis and Jacksonville during the Tiger Invitational held at Auburn Arena.

Auburn began with a key win, as they swept Memphis in three sets. Breanna Barksdale led the the team with 10 kills. Brenna McIlroy had 8 kills, while Emily Klitzke finished with 7. McIlroy also had 8 digs.

Later in the day, Auburn battled the Redhawks of Miami Ohio. The Tigers battled Miami for 5 sets, before ultimately falling, 3-2. Three Tigers had double-doubles in the match, Brenna McIlroy (17 kills, 12 digs), Alexa Filley (51 assists, 24 digs), and Jesse Earl (28 digs, 10 assists).

“We came out and had good energy, but we took our foot off the gas in sets two and four and you can’t do that against a good team like Miami,” head coach Rick Nold said following the match with Miami. “They made some plays and got back into the match. At the end, we didn’t stay aggressive and any team like Miami will take advantage of that.

Auburn would pick up their second win, and second sweep, of the tournament, when they knocked off Jacksonville to end the Tiger Invitational. Serving was key in this match, according to Head Coach, Rick Nold. “We put them out of system quite a few times, which provided us with opportunities. But we have to keep getting better. We saw some good things, but also saw some more things we really want to work at.”

Breanna Barksdale and Alexa Filley were named to the all-tournament team for Auburn.

Auburn will now head into the final non-conference weekend, with a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan to battle nationally-ranked Michigan on Friday night, before travelling just six miles to Ypsilanti, Michigan to face Colgate, and host Eastern Michigan University on Saturday.