Bel Zimmerman and Madison Sheer's dominant night on the offensive end gave the Tigers the edge they needed as they swept Cal Poly 3-0 on the second night of the Plainsman Invitational, giving Auburn its fifth straight win to open the season.
Zimmerman and Sheer led the Tigers with 11 kills with a .663 hitting percentage providing an overwhelming force at the net for Cal Poly to handle — marking her 4th match hitting at least .300 this season and third north of .400. The Tigers had fell under their kill average per set as they had 37 total kills on the night compared to the Mustangs' 35.
“I’m just such a fan of having this many hitters out there," said Brent Crouch. "There are some weaknesses with a 6-2. I just think with our group, it just makes a lot of sense. We have people that can hit high balls on both sides and they can also hit fast balls on both sides. It’s just so hard for people to deal with.”
The Tigers hit .323 on the night as it moves their record to 19-0 when hitting above .300 since Crouch arrived on the plains. He is 39-0 when hitting the same mark throughout his career.
Auburn cruised through the first two stanzas thanks to its stellar defense, holding the Mustangs to an average hitting percentage of .095 for the first two sets. Sheer and Chelsey McCurdy were the anchors defensively as they combined for eight blocks on the night.
The third period was when it began to become a tighter match, as the Mustangs began to hit their shots more consistently, hitting .195 for the set. Auburn led only by one late in the set, leading 21-20. Then the Tigers won the last four points to win the match and finished it with a block assist by Zimmerman.
Auburn continued to move the ball well on the offensive end, totaling 97 assists on the night. Kalei Edson and Peyton Dunn each had 15 assists in the match.
The Tigers scored seven aces total in the match, with Chelsey McCurdy contributing four of them. The Tigers also were able to minimize the number of errors they had in the match as they had seven to the Mustangs 20.
Crouch is now 2-0 in his career against the Mustangs, with his last victory coming in 2015 winning in five sets. He is hot in the month of August as he is 13-0 since becoming the Tigers coach, and 26-3 overall. He’s now also 34-19 at home as the Tigers head coach.
True Freshman outside hitter Lauren Dreves contributed to the defensive effort as she led the team in digs with 17 compared to liberoe Alexis Dacosta’s 11. Dacosta has recorded double digits in digs in the four matches she’s played in so far. Auburn recorded 50 digs to the Mustangs 43.
““They’re [Cal Poly] a good team," said Crouch. "They were picked to be the Big West Champs and their outsides really got going late in the match. But they never got over 21 points, so I thought it was a great win for us.” ”
Auburn will wrap up the invitational back in Neville Arena as they host No. 15 ranked Florida State on Sunday, Sept. 8. The first serve is set for noon and is being aired on SECN+.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
William Halliday is a junior journalism major from Memphis, Tennessee. He started with the Plainsman in fall 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @wphalliday3
