Auburn Volleyball improved its record this weekend, sweeping Alabama and Mississippi State at home.
The Tigers sit alone at second in the SEC West with a record of 14-8 overall and 6-5 in conference.
In both matches, the team had a strong showing in the first game, but let things get close in the second and third games.
Associate head coach Chris Campbell said these games showed the team's youth.
"It is good to know that in certain situations we are capable of coming from behind," Campbell said. "However, we want to prevent being in that spot to begin with."
Friday night, the team defeated in-state rival Alabama, 3-1, for only the second time in the last decade.
Junior Sara Shanks was excited to beat Alabama.
"It was a great feeling and something I can't really describe," Shanks said.
She added it was great to roll Toomer's Corner afterward.
Sophomore Kelly Fidero led the team with 11 kills and hit for .348 overall.
Assisting Fidero were junior Morgan Johns and freshman Sarah Bullock with nine kills each, while sophomore Christina Solverson recorded nine digs and 19 assists, a team high.
The Alabama team (6-15, 4-7 SEC) was led by junior Alyssa Meuth and senior Brooks Webster. Meuth had two blocks and nine kills and Webster recorded seven kills, nine digs and four blocks.
Auburn lost to the Tide earlier in the year in Tuscaloosa.
"Bama has gotten the better of us in that rivalry, and we feel it's indicative of all the training they have been doing to be able to catch up and surpass other programs," Campbell said.
Sunday afternoon, the team continued home play with a match against Mississippi State (5-18, 1-11 SEC).
The Tigers beat the Bulldogs in straight sets, 3-0.
Although the crowd was sparce, the energy was not as fans wildly cheered on the team.
The first set was strong for the Tigers as they won 25-14.
The second set was much closer.
After spending most of the second set trailing the Bulldogs, the fans rallied behind the girls to see them tie at 20 all. The Tigers pushed on and the set point found most of the crowd on its feet.
Auburn won the second set 25-23.
The score was kept close throughout the third set with neither team gaining enough momentum to break away.
An 8-3 run by the Tigers carried the team at the end and Auburn took the set 25-21.
Johns and Bullock were offensive leaders for the Tigers once again. Bullock recorded a match-high 12 kills and Johns finished with 11 kills and a .429 attack percentage.
Even though the girls swept MSU, junior Alyssa Davis said she felt the team didn't play its best.
"We definitely could have played a lot better," Davis said. "The score should have been a lot different, but we pulled it out in the end,"
Campbell agreed and thought the team let its guard down in the second and third games, but said the program is heading in the right direction.
"It's kind of a benchmark for us that we can win and be disappointed in how we played," Campbell said. "That's something we would have never done last year, we just would have been happy with a win."
The next four games for the Tigers are on the road with the earliest being Wednesday against Georgia, then heading to Baton Rouge to battle No. 20 LSU (15-5, 9-2 SEC).
In September, Auburn played LSU at home and lost 3-0.
Campbell said the road games always take a lot out of the girls, and the key is to keep the energy up.
He added the team has to make sure to take away something from every practice they can get in the upcoming weeks.
"We're just going to focus on our side of the net, our game," Shanks said.
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