Auburn volleyball picked up its eighth straight win against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday, moving the Tigers to 2-0 in the SEC.
The Tigers defeated Alabama 3-1 (25-19, 15-25, 27-19, 25-22) in front of a record-breaking crowd of 3,082, the largest attendance in the program's history.
“It’s huge. It means so much to the players to be supported like that,” said Auburn head coach Brent Crouch. “That’s awesome. It’s gone up every single year, and it matters for our players here.”
Auburn claimed the first set 25-19, recording a .103 hitting percentage with 11 kills on 39 attempts. An early kill from Bella Bell, followed by a block from Madison Scheer and Grace Havlicek, sparked a small run that gave the Tigers a 4-1 lead over the Crimson Tide.
The Tigers maintained their lead for the entire first set, aided by dominant net play and aggressive defense. Auburn tallied four blocks and 17 digs in the opening set, staying on pace with its season averages of 2.99 blocks and 18.02 digs per set, and kept the Crimson tide to a 0.000 hitting percentage.
Auburn struggled to gain offensive momentum in the second set, dropping the set 25-15 to Alabama. The Crimson Tide managed a .375 hitting percentage in the second set, compared to the Tigers’ minus-0.0.38, with 15 kills on 32 attempts.
Alabama started the second set on an 11-2 scoring run with Auburn unable to get a break offensively, with the Alabama defense recording 13 digs on the Tigers’ 26 attempted kills. Alabama libero Francesca Bertucci kept the Auburn offense at bay in the second set, digging nearly every ball that came her way. Bertucci ended the night with 14 digs.
After a shaky second set, Auburn made adjustments and edged Alabama 29-27 in the third set. The Tigers and Alabama traded points throughout the set, with neither team able to gain more than a one-point lead. The Crimson Tide eventually reached set point at 24-22, threatening to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Auburn responded under pressure, saving two set points thanks to clutch plays from Scheer and Bel Zimmerman, evening the score at 24-24. Alabama briefly regained the advantage, but Auburn fought off another set point and ultimately secured the set, 29-27.
From there, the Tigers posted a 25-22 win in the fourth set, securing the win. Auburn finished the final set with a 0.371 hitting percentage, 15 kills, 17 digs and three blocks. Alabama was able to tie things up at 22-22 late in the set, but the Tigers rallied under pressure, winning the next three points with two kills and an attack error from Alabama to claim their eighth-straight win over the Crimson Tide.
“I thought we did well in those pressure situations,” Scheer said. “Pressure situations are hard, too, and we felt those in the third and fourth set.”
Auburn volleyball returns to action on Friday, Oct. 4, with a home matchup against Georgia. The game is set for 6:30 p.m. CST and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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Grace Heim is a senior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in Political Science. She started with The Plainsman in January of 2023.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @graceeheim
