CLINTON, Miss. – Despite forcing a fifth set, and Anyaliz Rodriguez having a match-high 12 kills, the Auburn University at Montgomery Warhawk volleyball team (1-9, GSC: 0-2) suffered a five-set loss to the Mississippi College Choctaws (6-7, GSC: 3-0) in a Gulf South Conference match, Saturday afternoon from A.E. Wood Coliseum. 
 
Rodriguez led the Warhawks with a match-high 12 kills, while Taylor Lewis led the receptions with 14 digs.
 
Salome Dejesus De La Torres totaled 10.5 points with six kills, four aces and an assisted block. The junior also posted her fourth double-digit dig performance of the year with 10.
 
The Choctaws' Mary Grace Foster finished with 14.5 points with 11 kills and three aces. She also had a double-double with 11 kills and added nine digs. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
Tied at three early, a 15-8 run by the Choctaws, thanks to two kills each by Meg Paparella and Felicity Pratt, made it a 17-11 lead. 
 
The Warhawks made it a 24-20 score after a Kendall McCain kill, but the Choctaws took set one on the next rally, winning 25-20. 
 
Set 2
Mississippi College had a 10-4 lead early in the frame, but an 8-1 run, thanks to five attack errors by the home squad, gave AUM the 12-11 lead. An assisted block by Emma Claire Long and Courtney Joseph gave the visitors their first lead of the set. 
 
The Choctaws, trailing 17-13, used three straight kills, including two consecutive by Cydney Mitchell, to cut the deficit to one, 17-16. 
 
Ahead 18-17, AUM won six of the next nine points to reach set point, 24-20. However, Mississippi College won two straight, making it a 24-22 deficit. After a precisely called timeout by the Warhawks, Pratt's service went long to give AUM the 25-22 win and even the match at a set apiece. 
 
In the frame, AUM posted 14 kills and recorded a .323 attack percentage, while MC committed eight attack errors and had a .094 percentage. 
 
Set 3
After the Warhawks started the set on an Rodriguez kill, the Choctaws responded with a 12-2 run, including two aces by Meg Paparella. 
 
The Choctaws took advantage of six aces and 10 kills in the third to cruise to a 25-13 win and lead two sets to one.
 
Set 4
Tied at 11, the Warhawks strung together four straight points thanks to kills by Long, Kiara Vega and Jaslyn Montgomery to lead 15-11. However, the Choctaws responded with back-to-back attacks from Foster, but a Lewis service ace evened the set back at 16. 
 
AUM had a 20-17 advantage, but MC won five straight points to reclaim the lead, 22-20. 
 
After a timeout, the Warhawks won five of the final six points, including three straight, to force a deciding fifth set, 25-23.  
 
Set 5
After MC started the scoring, AUM rallied off five straight points, led by a Rodriguez kill and a service ace by Dejesus De La Torres. 
 
The Warhawks had a 6-2 lead at one point, but a 6-1 run by the Choctaws swung the lead back to the home squad, 8-7, before the teams swapped sides. 
 
Dejesus De La Torres evened it back up at nine with a kill, but a 5-1 run by Mississippi College solidified the set and match.
 
Up Next
The Warhawks wrap up the three-match road swing at Valdosta State on Tuesday night. 
 
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