FLORENCE, Ala. – The Auburn Montgomery volleyball team wrapped up play in the UNA Volleyball Classic on Saturday, defeating Dillard 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-22) before falling to Union 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-23).
 
NOTES
• AUM moves to 6-4 on the season.
• Dillard (La.) drops to 9-5.
• Union moves to 9-3.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Freshman outside hitter Skylar Coppinger led the offense in both matches, posting 12 terminations with six digs against Dillard followed by nine kills on a career-high .381 hitting percentage with nine digs against Union for a combined 21 kills and 15 digs on the day.
• Junior setter Carly Smart dished out 59 assists between the two matches, boasting 37 in the Warhawks' victory.
• Sophomore defensive specialist Haley Toler matched her program-record for digs in a match with 24 against Dillard, adding four against Union for 28 total.
• Junior middle blocker Brianna Garvin led AUM at the net with seven total blocks over the two matches. The Atlanta, Ga. native contributed 10 kills on an accurate .417 hitting percentage against Dillard.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (MATCH 1)
• AUM led the entire first set, scoring the opening six points and boasted a day-best .435 hitting percentage to keep the Bleu Devils out of the frame.
• Dillard opened up the second stanza strong, scoring five of the opening six points. AUM trailed by as many as six before orchestrating a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to one at 14-13. The Warhawks managed to knot up the score at 21-all, and ended the frame with a 4-1 run to take the set.
• The Warhawks yet again saw resistance from Dillard in the final set, seeing a tied 17-all score midway through the frame before four-straight points for AUM gave them the lead. Dillard tried to steal the momentum with a 3-0 spurt, but the Warhawks responded with back-to-back points to force set point.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (MATCH 1)
• AUM finished the match 44 kills on a .242 hitting percentage versus 32 on a .067 clip for Dillard.
• The Warhawks served four aces in the sweep while Dillard posted none.
• AUM ended the match with 5.0 blocks with Dillard posting one.
• Dillard held a slim 54-52 advantage in digs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (MATCH 2)
• Union took an early lead in the first set, jumping out to a 9-3 lead. The Warhawks managed to cut the deficit down to two at 12-10 and kept the separation within three until a 7-0 run by the Bulldogs ended the frame.
• AUM began the second stanza with a 4-1 start, but a 7-1 response by Union gave them an 8-5 lead. Union held the Warhawks to a day-low six kills in the set to prevent them from getting back into it.  
• The Warhawks put together their best set of the match in the finale, posting a higher hitting percentage than the opposition with a .296 clip versus .275. AUM went toe-to-toe with Union for the first 30 points of the frame, sitting in a deadlock 15-15 draw before a 7-2 stretch for the Bulldogs propelled them to a 22-17 lead. Facing match point and a 24-19 deficit, AUM rallied and scored four-straight points to bring them within one but could not find the equalizer as Union scored the final point of the contest.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (MATCH 2)
• AUM finished the contest with 27 kills on a .148 hitting percentage versus 44 kills and a .300 clip for Union.
• AUM held a 4-2 advantage in blocks.
• Union served up six aces, while AUM finished with three.
• The Bulldogs finished the match with a slim 37-35 advantage in digs.
 
UP NEXT
AUM's inaugural season will add two firsts next week, with the Warhawks' Gulf South Conference opener at Mississippi College scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. with the program's first home match slated for Friday, Sept. 22 against Montevallo at 6 p.m.
 
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