Auburn University Volleyball Team (11-7, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) fell to the University of Tennessee Volunteers (12-5, 5-2 SEC) and the 10th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats (16-1, 6-0 SEC) this past weekend, but the team's outlook is positive for the upcoming match against Florida (12-3, 6-2 SEC) Friday at 6 p.m.
"We are moving forward in the right direction," said head coach Wade Benson. "We need to have a larger home-court crowd for this weekend's upcoming matches against conference teams that include Florida and especially South Carolina."
Auburn is 6-2 at home this season so far.
The team's next task at hand is going up against the Gators in the Student Activities Center.
The game is also available on GameTracker provided by CBS College Sports online.
"I am pumped," said junior setter Sara Shanks. "We are ready to work hard in practice this week, and this past weekend has helped us learn what mistakes we need to work on as a team this upcoming week."
This Friday's match will be Auburn's first of two meetings with the Florida Gators' volleyball team this season.
"Florida is good, but any team in the SEC can be beaten due to the toughness of the conference," said junior defensive specialist Liz Crouch.
Nationally 6th-ranked Florida is coming off a 3-0 loss (28-26, 25-20, 25-22) to Louisiana State University (13-4, 7-1 SEC) leading up to this Friday's match with Auburn.
"I am excited about playing the Gators," said junior outside hitter Morgan Johns. "I hope we have a big crowd Friday night to support 'Dig for the Cure.'"
East Alabama Medical Center of Opelika is raising awareness for breast cancer. The first 300 fans will receive a pair of pink "Dig for the Cure" sunglasses, according to auburntigers.cstv.com.
"We have a three-year plan to turn this program around," Benson said. "Next year being the third year, we have been surprisingly productive so far, but we will continue to work hard because we are never satisfied unless we win."
This year's team is the first to have a winning season since the 1999 team.
The young team has 10 new players, eight of which are freshmen, and not a single senior member.
"Being a junior, I have seen the rebuilding process of this team," said junior middle blocker Lauren Mellor. "I came to Auburn University to play and use my love for volleyball to help turn this program around."
The team will be practicing all week before it goes up against the next two SEC opponents, Florida and the South Carolina Gamecocks, this weekend.
"This week we need to focus on the fundamental details in practice," Shanks said. "High intensity and an ability to close when we are ahead is the key to winning."
The Tigers' next match after Florida is against South Carolina at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at home.
The Florida Gators have their next match against the Georgia Bulldogs Sunday at 12:30 p.m. in Athens, Ga.
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