The 2024 NCAA volleyball season is here, and programs across the country are raring to hit the court.
New faces in the SEC, such as Oklahoma and the reigning national champion Texas, add to an already stacked conference. Alongside the Sooners and the Longhorns, this season also marks the introduction of the SEC Volleyball Tournament.
After an early exit in the 2023 NCAA Tournament to Western Michigan, the Auburn volleyball roster has a new look, and they are set to begin the 2024 campaign on Friday, August 30, in Neville Arena.
Making the 2023 NCAA Tournament as a seeded team for the first time in program history was the cherry on top of back-to-back record-breaking seasons.
The Tigers earned their first win in program history over a top ten opponent when they swept then-No. 9 Florida in Gainesville, which also marked the first time Auburn had defeated the Gators on their home court.
Following the record-breaking 2022 season, in which the Tigers notched 22 wins for the most victories in a single season since 1998, head coach Brent Crouch also reached career milestones in the 2023 campaign.
Crouch became the fastest Auburn coach to 50 wins in the rally-scoring era and also notched his 150th career win with a victory over Alabama on November 22.
The Tigers open the season with the War Eagle Invitational, facing North Alabama and Georgia Southern on Friday, August 30, and Wofford on Saturday, August 31.
Auburn’s non-conference schedule will heat up with matches against No. 20 Florida State in the Plainsman Invitational on September 8, and No. 18 Minnesota in the Diet Coke Classic on September 13.
The Tigers will open their SEC slate with No. 9 Kentucky in Neville Arena on September 27.
Auburn’s 2024 roster is headlined by the return of junior outside hitter Madison Scheer, who was named to the 2022 SEC All-Freshman team as well as the 2023 AVCA All-South Region team. Scheer finished the 2023 season ranked 9th in the SEC in kills with 385.
Missing from the Tigers’ 2023 roster is outside hitter Akasha Anderson, middle blocker Kendal Kemp and libero Sarah Morton.
On the front row Auburn will have to fill the shoes of Anderson and Kemp.
Anderson totaled 784 career kills and was named to the 2022 All-SEC team. Kemp was named to the 2022 SEC All-Freshman team and ranked 4th in the SEC with 118 blocks in 2023.
Morton anchored the defense for Auburn, ranking in the top 10 in the SEC in digs in both 2022 and 2023. Even being injury-riddled in 2023, her 3.69 career digs per set is ranked 3rd in Auburn program history.
Among the 2024 roster, a couple of Gatorade Players of the Year and a Baylor transfer are a few of the players that are competing for a starting spot on opening day’s lineup.
Outside hitters Lakin Laurendine and Lauren Dreves nabbed Gatorade Player of the Year honors before heading to the Plains, where Laurendine redshirted the 2023 season and Dreves enters as a true freshman.
While both freshmen could see action on the court, junior outside hitter Bel Zimmerman makes a case to start.
Seeing a dip in kills and sets played from the 2022 campaign to the 2023 season due to the arrival of Kentucky transfer Bella Bell, Zimmerman found other ways to contribute on the court by ranking 6th in the SEC in 2023 with 0.33 aces per set.
Even with Kemp transferring, Auburn is returning a veteran middle blocker in graduate student Chelsey McCurdy.
Rotating in as the second middle blocker behind Kendal Kemp for the 2023 season, McCurdy tallied 28 blocks as well as 22 aces at the service line for the Tigers. Behind her are three freshmen middle blockers, so we will be seeing new faces in the middle position.
Perhaps the most exciting move for the Tigers in the postseason, former Baylor defensive specialist Alexis Dacosta could easily shore up the defensive hole left by Morton. Playing in all 64 matches in her career for the Bears, she finished the 2023 season with 196 digs as well as 18 aces.
With star setter Jackie Barrett graduating after the 2023 season, Auburn will also need to find its next play caller.
With the abundance of talent on the roster, there may be a rotating starting lineup until Crouch decides on a starting six. Because of that, expect to see a mix of both youth and experience on the court early in the season.
Even though Auburn does not debut ranked in the AVCA Rankings, it does receive votes. The Tigers need to start the year off strong in non-conference play before facing the gauntlet that is the SEC.
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Emily Porch is a senior majoring in Sports Production from Sylacauga, Alabama. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2021.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @emilycporch
