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Auburn University at Montgomery Athletics

Whittlesey NGU
Jason Martin
2
North Greenville NGU 0-1
3
Winner Auburn Montgomery AUM 1-0
North Greenville NGU
0-1
2
Final
3
Auburn Montgomery AUM
1-0
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
North Greenville NGU 17 19 25 25 11 (2)
Auburn Montgomery AUM 25 25 23 13 15 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | Jason Martin

Warhawks Surrender Early Lead, Come Back To Win In Five Sets

AIKEN, SC. – The Auburn University at Montgomery volleyball team defeated North Greenville University 3-2 in an epic five-set thriller to open the 2021 campaign in the first of four matches at the USC Aiken Invitational.
 
This is the Warhawks' third time winning their first game of the season in program history. The Warhawks won their first-ever match against Lemoyne-Owen in 2017 and defeated West Alabama last season in the season opener.
 
AUM was able to jump out to an early 2-0 lead over the Crusaders, taking the first set 25-17 and the second set 25-19. The Warhawks slipped in the middle portion of the match before rebounding for a 15-11 win in the fifth and deciding set.
 
Three Warhawks netted double-digit kills in the season-opener. AUM was led by senior Nyah Whittlesey, who netted a game-high 18 kills, while senior Carla Butler (10) and newcomer Keren Santana (13) reached more than 10 kills in the contest.
 
Butler's 17 digs led the team and provided the New Zealand native her first double-double of the season, while Isadora Nicolai finished one dig shy of a double-double, netting nine digs and 33 assists.
 
The first set saw the two programs split the game's first 10 points. A 5-5 score was broken with two errors from North Greenville and a kill from freshman Ylenia De Mango to run the score to 8-5. The Crusaders cut the AUM lead to 10-8, but five straight points from the Warhawks ran the lead to 15-8.
 
North Greenville brought themselves to within five later in the first set, but AUM was able to put the game away by taking eight of the next 13 points to win the set 25-17.
 
AUM was able to carry their momentum in the first set over to the beginning of the second frame as the Orange & Black climbed out to a 10-5 lead over NGU. The Warhawks were able to keep a comfortable distance from the Crusaders, as an early 17-9 lead was never relinquished, leaving AUM with a commanding 2-0 score in the match.
 
Despite jumping out to a 7-1 lead in the third set, the Warhawks were not able to close the game in the third frame. The big lead was surrendered later in the set, as the Crusaders tied the game at 14. In the dying moments of the frame, AUM was able to cut the lead down to 23-24, but NGU was able to put the game away to stay alive in the match.
 
It was North Greenville's turn to carry momentum into the next set, as they jumped out to a commanding lead early in the fourth set. A 15-7 lead for the Crusaders quickly escalated into a 20-10 margin, which proved too much for the Warhawks to overcome, forcing a fifth and deciding set.
 
AUM's key to the fifth set was jumping out to an early lead, something they were able to do in three of the first four sets of the match. A kill from Butler ran the score to 8-3 in favor of the Warhawks. NGU was able to bring the game to 11-13, but a kill from Whittlesey and an ace from the program's all-time leader Nicolai clinched the match for AUM.
 
The Warhawks will wrap up day one of the USC Aiken Invitational with a 5 p.m. contest against Augusta University.
 
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