Auburn Volleyball wrapped up its three game road trip in Athens, facing the Georgia Bulldogs in a rivalry matchup that was sure to be anything but easy. The Tigers fought hard until the end, but ultimately fell short of the win.
Set one was tightly contested early on. After the first media timeout, Auburn trailed 13-15, with nine errors holding back the offense. The Tigers quickly cleaned things up and scored six straight points led by Kate Mansfield, who had two service aces. Following a few crucial Georgia errors, Lauren Dreves sealed the set with her fifth kill, securing the set 25-19.
Set two proved to be more difficult. Georgia opened with a five-point run to take a 6-10 lead before the first timeout. Auburn showed resilience, cutting the deficit to one after consecutive service aces by Shanelle Puetz. From there, the teams continued to exchange scoring runs until Georgia pulled away with six straight points to go up 19-11. Auburn managed two more points, but the Bulldogs closed the set with another six-point run to take the set 25-13.
The Bulldogs carried that momentum into the third set, winning 25-17 in a frame that never felt close. Georgia out killed the Tigers 18-8 with zero ties or lead changes. Facing elimination, the Tigers entered the fourth set looking to stay alive.
Auburn kept it much closer in the fourth, with five different players scoring the first five points. Georgia maintained a 15-12 lead going into a timeout. Kills from Dreves and Liz Markovska cut the Georgia lead to one, but the Tigers were never able to find the spark they needed. Georgia’s offense continued to be too much to handle, and the Bulldogs took the set 25-21 and the match 3-1.
Dreves finished the day with ten kills but an uncharacteristic .147 hitting percentage. Both Bel Zimmerman and Markovska contributed nine kills, though each hit below .100. Kalei Edson led the team with 10 digs and tied Puetz for a team-high 16 assists.
After three straight road games, the Tigers look to bounce back at home this Friday when they host Texas A&M in Neville Arena at 6:00 p.m. CDT for their Military Appreciation Game.
