On Sunday Nov. 12, the Auburn Tigers went on the road versus Missouri where they fell short in four sets.
Auburn was led by sophomore outside hitter Madison Scheer who returned to her home state of Missouri for this game.
Scheer led Auburn with three kills in the first set, however, the Missouri backline produced a hitting percentage of .500, allowing it to take the first set 25-19.
In the second set, Kayla Swanson joined Scheer on the offensive end, producing four kills on nine swings and no errors.
Auburn fell 21-15 in the middle of the second, however, the front row produced three blocks in the last five points bringing Auburn within one of Missouri.
Auburn’s front row was led by Kendal Kemp, Jackie Barrett and Scheer.
Unfortunately for Auburn, Missouri’s defense turned to offense once again as it finished Auburn in the second set with a final kill. Auburn fell in the second set 25-23.
In the third set, Auburn got things back on track with eight aces coming from Zoe Slaughter, Akasha Anderson and Paige Thibault.
These eight aces combined with six kills from the Tigers front row put them up early in the third.
Swanson and Scheer hit for .300 in the third, producing the best Auburn had seen all day.
This combined with the kills and serving led Auburn to a 25-23 victory over Missouri in the third, keeping the Tigers alive for one more set.
In the fourth set, the Tigers went down early, however, Swanson tied her career high with 10 kills, bringing the Tigers close in the final stretch.
Even with Scheer's performance, Missouri closed it all out, finishing Auburn 25-12 after a long final scoring spree from Missouri.
Auburn head coach Brent Crouch commented on the loss stating, “I thought the effort was there. We worked really hard, but we didn’t execute some things on defense that we wanted to, mostly blocking line on the hitters. They were just teeing offline on edges, and they did a really nice job of that.”
Key performers today for the Tigers included Scheer who led the team with 19 kills, including 10 in the fourth set – scoring the majority of the Tigers points in that set.
Swanson also took a leading role, recording 10 kills and swinging at .526, her new career high.
“It’s tough and we could not handle it," Crouch said. "I thought we battled hard, coming back halfway through the second and almost getting that set at the end there.”
The Tigers go back on the road Wednesday, Nov. 15 at Mississippi state as they continue SEC play. The game will be televised on SEC Network+.
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Jack Earnhardt is a sports writer from Birmingham, Alabama, majoring in building science. He joined The Plainsman in fall 2023.
