Auburn volleyball (8-0) remains undefeated after defeating Troy (4-5) and North Florida (1-7) in back-to-back games this weekend in Birmingham.
Troy
Auburn defeated Troy 3-1 in a tightly contested game that extended the Tigers win streak to seven, which was the best start to an Auburn season since 2012.
“I thought it was another hard-fought match,” said head coach Brent Crouch. “Troy was the best opponent we’ve played so far, and to get a win after the five-setter last night was huge for us.”
Auburn started on the attack early, getting aces from Fallan Lanham, Zoe Slaughter and Jordan Sinness. The Tigers were also ferocious at the line to start the game, with Sarah Morton leading Auburn to four straight points midway through the first frame.
The Tigers continued the early success on the defensive end too, with Chelsey Harmon leading Auburn to six blocks to finish out the frame.
Auburn would go on to dominate the second frame too, with the freshman Madison Scheer recording three kills in the set to put the Tigers up big.
Troy fought back midway through the match, but Sinness second ace and Harmon leading the way on defense shut down any of the Trojan’s momentum.
Auburn would close the door on Troy, with aces from Jackie Barrett and Cassidy Tanton giving the Tigers a good lead in the final set. Auburn also had five blocks in the frame to finish off the Trojans.
Auburn had a great defensive game, tying a program record of 17 block in a four-set match. Scheer had a career-high 17 kills and Harmon had a career-best 10 blocks, the first Auburn player to reach double-digit blocks this season.
North Florida
Auburn made quick work of North Florida Sunday, sweeping the Ospreys 3-0.
Harmon carried over her great performance from Saturday, starting off the first frame with two kills early. Kendal Kemp and Jackie Barrett led the way on defense for the Tigers, helping Auburn record four blocks to finish off the first.
“The other piece we preach all the time is defense, defense, defense,” Crouch said. “We held them under .100 hitting efficiency for the match and that’s what we want.”
Scheer and Akasha Anderson lead the way for Auburn in the second, both reaching the seven-kill mark by the time the set was over. Tanton and Barrett added aces in the set, and another strong defensive performance put the Tigers in a commanding 2-0 lead.
Auburn continued to dominate in the third, with Scheer and Anderson reaching the double-digit kills mark with 15 and 12 apiece. Kemps work on the net solidified the win, and the Tigers earned their fourth sweep of the season.
Auburn will try to remain unbeaten this Friday against Southern Miss. If they can defeat the Golden Eagles, the Tigers will tie a program record to best start in a season (9-0, in 1990).
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Donavan Weaver is a senior at Auburn, majoring in journalism. He is from Brewton, Ala. and started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @donavanweaver21
