AU ROUNDUP: Kopsick in top 15 at Carpet Capital Collegiate

DALTON, Ga. — Sophomore Kyle Kopsick (1-over) fired a two-under 70 during Saturday’s second round of the Carpet Capital Collegiate, jumping from an individual tie for 31st into the top-15. Auburn (293-586) carded a second-consecutive 293 to remain tied for seventh.

Sophomore John Stembridge (1-under) maintained his top-10 position, set to enter Sunday’s final round six strokes off Georgia’s Russell Henley (7-under) in the individual lead.

“We made some silly mistakes,” said Auburn head golf coach Nick Clinard. “The only team beating us right now is ourselves. We had probably seven three-putts in there. If we can cut out the simple mistakes and have a solid round tomorrow, we can move into the top three.”

Kopsick (70-145) had a stumble through the front nine, making the turn at four-over but stormed back. An eagle on No. 12, a downhill par-5, highlighted a run that also included four birdies.

“Kyle Kopsick absolutely turned it on for the back nine,” said Clinard. “John Stembridge came out with a quick slip on the back nine but recovered nicely. You always want your players to do that in those situations. I was extremely happy to see that.”

Stembridge (74-143) finished the day tied for eighth, followed by Kopsick (70-145) in a tie for 14th. Redshirt freshman David Zickler (72-148) carded the Tigers’ second lowest round on the day to move into a tie for 29th. Redshirt freshman Jackson Beindorf (77-151) finished tied for 41st with sophomore Will McCurdy (77-152) tied for 44th.

“We’ve got a real good shot of getting into the top-three of this tournament,” said Kopsick. “If we all just shave a couple of strokes every round, we can get there. We’ve got to get out of our own way and stop throwing away strokes.”

Chattanooga (284-575) holds the team lead followed by No. 18 Tennessee (287-577), No. 15 South Carolina (293-583), No. 3 Alabama (294-583), Wake Forest (287-585), No. 11 Georgia Tech (290-585), Auburn, No. 24 Texas Tech (284-586), No. 4 Georgia (294-586), East Tennessee State (295-599), No. 19 Clemson (305-595) and Ole Miss (295-599).

Trailing Henley (66-137) for the individual lead are Georgia’s Harris English (68-139) and Ole Miss’ Jonathan Randolph (71-139).

The Tigers will tee off the back nine at 7:50 a.m. with Texas Tech and Georgia.

Volleyball wins Bash in the ’Boro
STATESBORO, Ga. — The Auburn volleyball team battled host Georgia Southern and came out with the 3-2 (25-21, 24-26, 26-28, 25-19, 15-13) victory to win the Bash in the ‘Boro tournament and improve to 8-3 on the season.

“Overall, we definitely got something out of the weekend and will build from it on Monday morning,” Wade Benson, head volleyball coach, said. “It was good to play a match to five at a high level against Georgia Southern. That match will help us prepare for the upcoming weekend when we start conference play.”

Freshman Katherine Culwell was named tournament Most Valuable Player. The Dallas native finished the night with 12 kills and a season-high 17 digs. Classmate Sarah Bullock and junior Liz Crouch were named to the all-tournament team.

Representing Georgia Southern on the all-tournament team was Sarah Gildersleeve and Bethany Sanford. Wake Forest’s Kadija Fornah and Coastal Carolina’s Chelsy Kimes were also all-tournament honorees.

Other leaders for the Tigers were juniors Alyssa Davis and Morgan Johns. Each finished with 12 kills on the evening. Crouch tallied 13 digs, while Bullock finished with 12 digs and nine kills.

Sanford led the Eagles with 18 kills and 15 digs. Kat Van Dyke finished with 49 assists and 16 digs.

The Tigers and Eagles kept the score close in the beginnings of the first set, seeing the set tied at three a piece. A 7-2 run by the Tigers, highlighted by three kills from Davis, pushed the score to 11-5.

The team continued to build their lead, going up by as much as nine at 19-10. Georgia Southern fought back, coming within four at 22-18, but a kill from Davis solidified the 25-21 win.

Two kills from Davis triggered an early 4-1 lead for Auburn in set two. The Eagles, however, put together a 5-0 run to go up 6-4. The two teams battled throughout the set, until a kill from Bullock put the Tigers up 15-13. Georgia Southern pushed a 3-0 run at the 19-19 mark, but Auburn came back and tied it at 22 apiece. The Eagles pushed ahead, however, winning the set 26-24.

The two squads exchanged points at the start of set three until a 5-0 run, featuring two kills from Culwell, gave the Tigers the 10-5 advantage. Another big rally at 13-10 put Auburn up by seven, but Georgia Southern did not let down and went on a 14-7 run to tie the set at 24. Being down by one, kills from Fidero kept Auburn in the set, but the Eagles pulled away with a 28-26 win.

The Eagles came out with a 4-1 lead in set four, but a handful of Georgia Southern errors brought the Tigers within one at 5-4. Down by two at 9-7, a service ace from Chanelle Clark and kill from Wallace put Auburn ahead, 10-9. A kill from Culwell at 15 a piece put Auburn gave Auburn the lead for good as the Tigers went on to win 25-19.

In the final set of the match, Georgia Southern pulled ahead 3-1 and continued to hold the lead. Auburn, down 9-6, put together a 4-0 to go up 10-9. A kill from Wallace gave the Tigers the 12-11 advantage and with the scored tied at 13, a kill from Morgan Johns and an Eagle attack error solidified the 15-13 Auburn victory.

The Tigers open Southeastern Conference play when they travel to Mississippi State on Sept. 18. Match time is set for 7 p.m. Auburn follows with a 1:30 p.m. matchup with rival Alabama on Sept. 20.