After losing to a top 10 team in Tennessee, Auburn volleyball returns home to face off against Missouri and South Carolina.
First, Auburn plays against Missouri. Missouri has historically done very well versus Auburn, leading the all-time series 14-3. Auburn split a pair of matches in Columbia, Missouri, last season, winning the first match 3-2 but losing to Missouri the next day 3-1.
This season, Missouri has struggled with consistency, with a 12-7 record. However, the Tigers won their last two SEC matches against Ole Miss and Alabama. The Tigers from Columbia are looking to continue their winning ways.
Three of Missouri's leaders are Jordan Iliff, Janet deMarrais and Dilara Gedikoglu. Iliff leads the team in kills with 231. DeMarrais has 202 kills, while Gedikoglu has 197 kills.
Auburn will also face off against South Carolina on Sunday. Auburn defeated the Gamecocks on Oct. 8 in a 3-2 victory for the Tigers. The all-time series is almost even between these two squads with South Carolina having the slight edge, leading the series 21-20.
The Gamecocks are currently 8-9 on the season and are 1-6 in road matches. However, South Carolina has won two of its last three games with wins over Alabama and Georgia. The leader of South Carolina is Riley Whitesides, who has 158 kills on the season.
Auburn, while coming off a loss at Tennessee, comes into this contest with a 14-4 record, with a 4-3 SEC mark.
For the Missouri match, look for the Auburn offense to come out and attack – which is how Auburn has been able to get its victories.
For the South Carolina match, Auburn could also come out looking for an early lead. Auburn fell behind two sets to one early in its meeting against the Gamecocks a few weeks ago. While Auburn battled back in that game, the Tigers will look to avoid a slow start and capitalize while being home.
If Auburn takes down Missouri or South Carolina, head coach Brent Crouch will grab his 50th win while at Auburn and become the quickest head coach in the rally-scoring era to accomplish this feat at Auburn.
Auburn will face Missouri on Friday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m. CST. It will be broadcast on the SEC Network. The match versus South Carolina will be played at 1 p.m. CST and will be broadcast on SEC Network+. Both contests will be held in Neville Arena.
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TP is a senior from Montgomery, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @tp_hammock
