On Thursday, the Auburn Tigers volleyball team looks to continue its hot start to the season in the Tiger invitational.
Fourth-year head coach Brent Crouch has the Tigers 5-0 to start the season, with the team being ranked inside the AP top 25 for the first time in program history, coming in at No. 25. With wins over Coppin State, McNeese State and Jacksonville State in the War Eagle Invitational, as well as wins over SMU and Florida State in the Seminole Invitational, the Tigers have had a hot start to their 2023 campaign.
The Tigers have not lost more than a single set in any match this year, as well as having two perfect 3-0 matches already this season.
The Tigers come back home this week to host the Tiger invitational, playing the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, Charleston Southern Buccaneers and Mercer Bears. Auburn’s first match is against Middle Tennessee State, who are 2-3 on the season. However, the Blue Raiders have won two straight matches, beating South Dakota State and Kent State with a perfect 3-0 score in each match. Auburn will look to end the Middle Tennessee State's win streak when the two play each other Thursday at 6 p.m. CST in Neville Arena.
The Tigers’ second matchup of the week is against Charleston Southern on Friday at 7 p.m. CST. The Buccaneers are 5-3 on the season and present Auburn with what could be the hardest matchup of the invitational. Offensively, Charleston Southern is led by Giada Pais-Marden with 70 kills, who is followed by Skylar Yates with 60. An Auburn win could give the Tigers a chance to bolster their resume.
The Tigers final matchup of the weekend comes against Mercer when they host the Bears Saturday at 5 p.m. CST. The Bears are 2-4 on the season and have been swept in two of their last three matches. However in Mercer's wins, it has played well, sweeping Idaho State and Mississippi Valley State.
If the Tigers were to sweep the Tiger Invitational this week, they could find themselves ranked even higher in the AP poll. With the Alabama Showdown coming up next week in Mobile, Alabama, which is followed by the SEC opener against No. 3 Florida, the Tigers need to gain as many wins as they can if they want to continue to be ranked and continue their solid start to the season.
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Luke McClure is a junior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in sports production. He joined The Plainsman in fall 2023.
Twitter: @lukemcclure0
