Auburn volleyball will be traveling to Louisville, Kentucky, to face Western Michigan in its first matchup of the SEC Tournament. The Tigers are a seven seed in the tournament and hope to take away a win on Nov. 30th at 3 p.m. CT.
This will be the third time that Auburn volleyball has been in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers also made program history with two back-to-back appearances in this tournament. Auburn will be coming off a tough 3-2 loss against No. 9 Arkansas in the regular season finale.
Auburn and Western Michigan have met three times before, with the most recent meeting being in 2019. Auburn currently leads this series 2-1 with one Bronco win in 2001.
This past Sunday, Auburn’s outside hitter, Madison Scheer, was named to the All-SEC team. Scheer, along with other key hitters that have had great seasons like Akasha Anderson, Kyla Swanson and Bella Bell, will be key components against Western Michigan who is currently riding a 20-match win streak.
This will be the Western Michigan’s first appearance in the tournament since 2014. They punched a ticket by beating No. 6 seed Bowling Green in the MAC Volleyball Championship. This will not be the first SEC team that Western Michigan has faced this year. Earlier in the season, the Broncos took a tough loss to Mississippi State on Sep. 8th.
Players to watch for Western Michigan would consist of setter Logan Case, who earned MAC Player and Setter of the Year. She will be coming into this tournament as the NCAA Division I leader in assists.
Along with Case, she has a trio of skilled hitters to set up. Maggie King, Keona Salesman and Anna Calcagno all lead the team in hitting percentages. Maggie King is the biggest threat who averages 3.69 kills per set and four points per set. King is less than 100 kills away from becoming the all-time leader in program history.
With such a strong setter, Auburn’s defense at the net will need to be strong. Kendal Kemp and Swanson have been responsible for a large portion of the Tigers' blocks this season, each averaging one block per set.
Not only is Western Michigan solid on offense, but it also has a strong defense as well. Andelyn Simkins, who ranks second in the conference in total digs per set, is also exceptional on serve receive, having only 20 errors on 493 attempts which is an area that Auburn has struggled to defend this season.
If the Tigers win this matchup and advance to round two, they would face the winner of Wright State vs. Louisville on Friday, Dec. 1 at 1 p.m. CST.
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Madelyn Marsh is a freshman from Castroville, Texas, who is majoring in journalism. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2023.
