Bump, set, spike, score is hoped to be a recurring sequence by the volleyball team this week and the rest of the season.
The team's next match is against Mississippi State in Starkville at 1 p.m. Sunday. The game will be televised regionally by Cox Sports.
This will be the first of two meetings between the teams this year; the second is Nov. 13.
Auburn dominated meetings last year with Mississippi State only winning one set of the two matches and Auburn winning a combined six sets.
This will be the second of a four-game away stretch for Auburn as they travel to Georgia, LSU and Arkansas.
Coach Rick Nold said he hopes his team is ready for the test.
"I think it will be interesting to see how we go on the road," Nold said. "When we have played here at home, we have had a lot of energy in matches, and that really helps our confidence. Now when we go on the road, we want to find that same level of intensity. We just need to continue to work and these road games will show us where we are. I hope we will respond well."
Nold said he felt like his team is beginning to hit its stride at this part of the season.
"The system we are putting in as coaches, I think, is finally starting to click and giving them a lot of confidence in themselves," Nold said. "They aren't thinking too much, they are just going out and playing hard. I think beating the people we have here at home shows what we are capable of. When you go into matches expecting to win, it helps."
Senior outside hitter Kelly Fidero said she feels her and her teammates still have a lot of work to do for this game and the subsequent road tests.
"I think we can still serve a little tougher," Fidero said. "Our defense is better than our offense at this point. I think our blocking and serving just need to get a little better, and I think we'll be all right."
Sophomore right setter Chelsea Wintzinger said she agrees with Fidero, and added the team needs to fix the little things.
"I think we need to work on staying even more consistent," Wintzinger said, "There were times in previous games where we would go down a few points and they would get on runs. We need to work on not giving up those runs."
Both Fidero and Wintzinger believe the team is playing with a lot of confidence right now after winning three of the last four matches.
"We have some tough games coming up starting with this game this week, and I think we are playing our best right now," Fidero said. "But we know we have a chance to really get on a roll."
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