MONTGOMERY, Ala. –The Auburn Montgomery volleyball battled to a fifth set against Mississippi College on Saturday, Oct. 2 but ultimately fell 15-8 in the decisive fifth set to give way to a 3-2 loss to the Choctaws.
 
With the loss, AUM's record falls to 10-7 overall and 2-2 in Gulf South Conference action.
 
Carla Butler, Isadora Nicolai, and Keren Santana all tallied a double-double in the setback. Butler posted 12 kills with 16 digs, Nicolai totaled 30 a team-high 30 assists with 16 digs, and Santana added 13 kills with 16 digs.
 
Giada Pais-Marden paced the Warhawks with 17 kills while Reann Cato led AUM with 19 digs on the day.
 
Despite hitting .359 as a team in set one, the Warhawks would ultimately drop it 25-23 to the Choctaws. The turning point came on a 5-0 MC run that put them up 23-21 to gain momentum and help take the set. 
 
AUM posted their best hitting percentage of the night in set two, converting on 15 of 29 (.379) attacks with just four errors to take the set 25-18. The Warhawks took advantage of six errors and just a 0.094 hitting percentage from the Choctaws to win set three 25-20.
 
MC turned it up offensively over sets four and five, hitting .342 and .375, respectively. The Choctaws led for all but three rallies in set four and scored seven of the game's final eight points to take set five 15-8.
 
The Warhawks tallied 65 kills on the day and outhit the Choctaws .256 to .244. Both teams accounted for five blocks with AUM notching 61 assists compared to 53 from the Choctaws. 
 
 The volleyball team will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 8 when they take on the Montevallo Falcons in GSC play. First serve from Montevallo, Ala. is set for 6:00 p.m. (CST).
 
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