MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Auburn University at Montgomery volleyball team defeated Shorter 3-0 and Lee 3-1 at home on Saturday to close out Group B play, clinching the second seed for the upcoming Spring Championship Series tournament.
The Warhawks were able to breeze past Shorter in the first game of the day, winning in straight sets to capture the third win in Group B play.
AUM finishes their regular season schedule with a 5-1 record, including a 4-1 mark in Group B action. The Warhawks finish behind Montevallo in Group B and will receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
Three Warhawks registered in double figures offensively against the Lady Hawks. Nyah Whittelsey and
Mariane Cassiano led the way with 12 kills, while
Carla Butler added 11 kills of her own in the 3-0 shutout victory.
Despite an early 3-point lead for the Warhawks, the Lady Hawks were able to rally to tie the first set at six points to start the match. A Butler kill pushed the AUM lead to 14-12, but Shorter was able to get their first lead of the match with four-consecutive points to take a 16-14 lead.
AUM answered the Shorter run with one of their own, scoring five-straight points to regain the lead and a 19-16 advantage over the Lady Hawks. Two straight from Shorter cut their deficit to one, but AUM finished the first set with five consecutive points to win the first set 25-19.
The Warhawks were able to breeze to a strong 16-9 lead in the second set, thanks to service aces from
Berkleigh Davidson and
Skylar Coppinger. Shorter was able to rally to cut the AUM lead to two, but the Warhawks took six of the next nine points to win set two 25-20.
Shorter jumped out to an early 6-4 lead in an attempt to extend the match to at least a fourth set, but Butler was able to jumpstart the AUM offense with excellent serving, as the Warhawks were able to take an 8-6 lead.
With the match tied at 13, AUM strung together six-consecutive points to extend their lead to 19-13. A Lady Hawks point ended the run momentarily for AUM, but the Warhawks rebounded by scoring five of the last eight points of the third set and won the period 25-17 and the match 3-0.
AUM honored the last-remaining Warhawk from the inaugural volleyball team, Coppinger, before the start of the game. She finished the second game with two service aces, seeing action in all four sets for the Orange & Black.
The Warhawks struggled out of the gate against the Lady Flames in the first set, allowing Lee to jump out to an early advantage. Lee was able to capture a 13-9 lead over AUM in the middle stages of the first set.
AUM was able to cut the lead down to 18-15, but the Lady Flames were able to push their lead and capture the first set of the match 25-22.
Game two was a different story for AUM, as they were able to set the tone for the rest of the match. The Orange & Black were able to jump out to a 9-5 lead, but Lee rallied to tie the second set at 10 moments later.
AUM answered with a run of their own, with kills from
Kyla Ffrench and
Giada Pais-Marden to give the Warhawks an 18-13 lead. With AUM up 20-17, they were able to put the game away by scoring the last five points of the second set to tie the match at one.
The first 20 points of the third set were split between the two teams. The two sides went back-and-forth for a while in the middle stages of the third set, before
Maria Nicolau's service ace gave the Warhawks a three-point lead.
Lee was able to cut the lead to 18-16, but the Orange & Black were able to take home seven of the next nine points to come away with the win in the third set 25-19.
AUM never let Lee back into the match by racing off to a 9-3 lead over the Lady Flames. Lee was able to hang around in the middle portion of the fourth set, cutting the Warhawks' lead down to 16-14. A Whittlesey kill extended the AUM lead to 20-17, and it was all the momentum the Warhawks needed to come away with a 25-20 win.
The Warhawks will now await the winner of #3 seeded Union out of Group A and #6 Valdosta State from Group B. The match between the Lady Bulldogs and Lady Blazers will take place at the AUM Gymnasium on Friday, March 26, before playing on March 27.
