AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn volleyball loses its second straight game Thursday in the UWC Field House, as they drop straight sets to No. 5 Wisconsin, 23-25, 17-25, and 20-25. With four Badgers hitting more than five kills each, Auburn had little room for error.
After losing to No. 11 Minnesota Wednesday, Auburn looked to bounce back in Madison, Wisconsin, to even its record at 1-1 in the Big Ten/SEC Classic. That hope faded quickly after the Badgers jumped to a 7-2 start. Auburn had three attack errors in the first nine points. Even after Wisconsin committed five attack errors, the Tigers could only pull within four heading into the media timeout.
After the media timeout, Wisconsin pushed its lead back to five, 20-15, aided by kills from six different players. A timeout by Auburn head coach Brent Crouch tried to slow the momentum before the end of the first set. The timeout worked as Belle Patrick and Lauren Dreves helped Auburn even the score, 23-23. Dreves, who earned first-team All-SEC honors last season, led the Tigers with six kills, while Patrick followed her with four.
A service error and an unsuccessful block gave Wisconsin the first-set win, but there was hope for Auburn as momentum grew from its late comeback to tie.
After a 3-0 start for Wisconsin, Dreves and Patrick stayed hot, tying the game at seven. The teams continued to trade points, but service errors killed Auburn’s chances to take a lead. However, the Tigers took advantage of the back-and-forth play when Grace Havlicek’s ace put Auburn ahead 13-12 in the second set.
After Auburn took its first lead of the game, the surge quickly shifted back to Wisconsin as the Badgers went on an 8-1 scoring run. This run was led by Wisconsin’s freshmen Halle Thompson and Lynney Tarnow, aided by Auburn offensive errors.
The Tigers’ 19 errors were their second-most of the season, trailing the 20 they committed against Minnesota on Wednesday—their first loss of the season. For an Auburn team trying to earn its first ranking in two years, the errors consistently stalled the Tigers’ momentum.
Wisconsin showed why it's ranked in the top five nationally, as the Badgers hit over .500 in the remainder of the set to win 25-17.
In the third set, Auburn got off to a strong start, as they opened with a 7-5 lead. Wisconsin fought back to tie the set 12-12 and later 16-16, behind the stellar play of Eva Travis and Tarrow.
Travis, who finished second among the Badgers with 10 kills, recorded half of them in the final set to put the Badgers ahead. After Wisconsin took the lead late, Auburn could not regain the lead as the Badgers finished the set 25-20.
Auburn will continue its nine-game road stretch Tuesday in Tallahassee, Florida, against Florida State in the Showdown at the Net. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT and will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
