Undefeated and earning its first AP top 25 ranking in program history, the Auburn Tigers returned home to host the Tiger Invitational against Middle Tennessee, Charleston Southern, and Mercer. To kick off the weekend, Auburn's first opponent was the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
In a narrow battle, the Blue Raiders upset the Tigers, winning the match 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-22). It was a nail-biting battle for the lead, with a lot of back-and-forth between offenses.
Middle Tennessee State controlled the point scoring percentage at 39.6%, while Auburn had 31.4%. The Blue Raiders’ offense held a slight edge with 52 kills, a .270 hitting percentage and nine aces, while the Tigers had 48 kills, a .221 Hit% and two aces.
With its 52 kills Thursday night, Middle Tennessee State had a strong offensive performance — something it has proved to do this year as the Raiders entered the game averaging 14.18 kills per set, the highest in Conference USA.
Sophomore pin hitter Bel Zimmerman led the Auburn offense with 12 points and 11 kills with six errors. Graduate middle blocker Kyla Swanson, sophomore pin hitter Madison Scheer and senior middle blocker Bella Bell followed her lead. Swanson recorded nine kills, a .333 Hit% and 11 points with only three errors. Scheer had eight kills, a .214 Hit% and 9.5 points, while Bell had eight kills, a .143 Hit% and 10 points.
Over the four sets, the Blue Raiders controlled the match's pace, but the Tigers stayed close behind. Middle Tennessee State and Auburn made several impressive saves to keep the score gap razor thin.
Similar to the offenses, both teams' defenses were evenly matched, with the Raiders’ 53 digs and five blocks and the Tigers’ 39 digs and nine blocks.
Heading the Tigers’ defense, sophomore libero Sarah Morton, junior libero Fallan Lanham and senior setter Jackie Barrett collected 10 digs, respectively. Sophomore middle blocker Kendal Kemp, Swanson and Bell defended the net with Kemp’s five blocks and Swanson’s and Bell’s four blocks.
Middle Tennessee State and Auburn made errors that cost each team crucial points, but the Tigers made several mistakes. Auburn collected 19 attacking errors, 16 serving errors and three blocking errors while the Raiders’ had 17 attacking errors, 13 service errors and three blocking errors.
Graduate right-side hitter Kayla Henley led Middle Tennessee’s offense with 15 kills, a .355 Hit% and 17.5 points with only four errors. Sophomore outside hitter Adri Rhoda and junior outside hitter Laure Jansen trailed behind Henley. Rhoda recorded 12 kills, a .250 Hit% and 14.5 points, while Jansen collected nine kills and 10 points.
Auburn’s lineup missed sophomore pin hitter Akasha Anderson, but it has not been announced why she wasn’t on the court or the bench.
Next, the Tigers face the Charleston Southern Buccaneers on Friday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m. CST. The Tiger Invitational will be streamed on the SEC Network+.
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Caitlyn Griffin is a sophomore from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. She started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @caitlyngrif99
