Auburn volleyball opened its weekend with a statement win over Georgia, remaining at the top of the SEC standings.
The young Tigers went 2-0 through the first two sets, but Georgia picked up the intensity in the third and took that win to creep back into contention. Looking to force a fifth set, the Bulldogs went up by seven in the third but Auburn was able to rally and win 3-1 (25-22, 26-24, 23-25, 25-23).
Auburn (15-1, 4-1) was at home for just the fourth time this season after a long slate of neutral site and away games. They capitalized on the energy of Neville Arena, which had a noisy crowd despite students being out of classes for fall break.
Jackie Barrett had a big night, finishing with her third straight double-double and fifth of the season. Kendal Kemp earned a career-best 10 blocks, one of those a solo block.
Georgia was able to force a fourth set by hitting over .300 in the third set and five kills from the Tigers would not be enough to fend off the Bulldogs. The visitors kept their momentum going into the fourth, leading by as much as 20-13, but Auburn was able to overcome the deficit to end the match.
Head coach Brent Crouch is teaching a young team, loaded with freshman. That youth showed at moments, when the Bulldogs were able to go on runs that seemed to deflate Auburn. However, Crouch rallied his team with well-timed timeouts and the Tigers were ultimately able to swing the momentum back in their favor when it was truly necessary.
Midway through the first set, Auburn had yet to record a block, but the team was quick to overcome that deficit. The team finished out the set with four blocks, three of which Kemp contributed.
Akasha Anderson had five kills in the first, but Madison Scheer, Chelsey Harmon and Kemp added on three to keep the Bulldogs on their toes. The second set was tighter.
In the second set, the lead changed nine times and was tied at 28 different points. Sarah Morton and Zoe Slaughter held town the back line with nine digs each. Barrett finished with 10, a team high for the night. Auburn recorded three kills, with the team hitting .364 through that set.
The second set went to extra points, but Anderson slammed a kill and added a block with Kemp to earn back-to-back points for the Tigers. The effort gave them a two-set lead.
The Tigers were fresh off a trip to LSU where they lost a tight 2-3 game on Wednesday, so defeating the Bulldogs was a statement performance that should build confidence going forward.
The two teams return to action tomorrow for a 4 p.m. CST rematch.
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Callie Stanford, junior in communications, is the sports editor at the Auburn Plainsman. Currently a junior, she has been with The Plainsman since January 2021.
Twitter: @Stanford1Callie
