No. 24 Auburn volleyball fell to the Texas A&M Aggies this afternoon, marking their second loss of the season and ending the Tigers' undefeated start in SEC play.
The Tigers lost in four sets (20-25, 25-18, 21-25, 19-25). The game started evenly with both teams hitting well. Halfway through the set, the Aggies began to attack aggressively, tallying 20 kills and hitting a .429. One reason for this is the absence of Emma Moore, who has been out for about two weeks due to injury.
“The middle connection was way below what it needs to be. So we got to get the middles back, we got to get Emma back. We really missed Emma blocking in this match,” said head coach Brent Crouch. “She’s four inches higher than both our middles right now, blocking, and she’s faster. That would’ve helped a little bit.”
The Auburn defense struggled to answer, recording nine digs and zero blocks, well below the season averages of 17.9 digs/set and 2.9 blocks/set. They couldn’t contain the Aggies and fell 20-25.
The Tigers bounced back in the second set, outhitting A&M .265 to .051. Chelsea McCurdy’s presence on the net was vital with five blocks. McCurdy ended the night with nine blocks total. Offensively, Bel Zimmerman made her presence felt with four kills in the set, totaling ten for the match. This renewed defense helped Auburn defeat the Aggies 25-18, finishing with 17 digs and six blocks.
The two teams again stayed close for the majority of the third set, but the Aggies were able to pull away late. A&M’s Logan Lednicky had eight kills in the third set, leading her team to victory. Lednicky totaled 23 kills for the night, recording a third of Texas A&M’s total kills. Another factor in this set was Auburn’s six attacking errors and three serving errors. However, head coach Crouch’s main concern was not the service errors, but rather how his team was serving.
“That third set they [A&M] passed just so well, and we have got to be serving tougher than this. If you miss, you miss, but if they’re up at the net then they’re going to bounce,” said Crouch. “[In the fourth set], We missed four or five, but we got them in trouble and we got a couple of aces, and we were there.”
Auburn still provided a strong defensive showing in the third set, tallying 16 digs and making several diving plays. Alexis Dacosta, despite still struggling with thumb soreness, once again led the team in digs with 17 digs, four of which occurred in the third set. Despite a valiant effort, Auburn lost the third set 21-25.
Texas A&M also outhit Auburn in the fourth set, hitting a .229 while Auburn only managed a .121. The Aggies also stepped up their blocking game, recording five blocks, four of which came from Ifenna Cos-Okpalla. Cos-Okpalla ended her night with seven blocks, the most for the Aggies. Auburn fought hard with 10 kills, 13 digs, and three blocks, but ultimately couldn’t hold on and lost the set 19-25.
Auburn ended the night with 45 kills, 55 digs, 11 blocks, and a .201 overall hitting percentage. Team leaders were Dacosta with 17 digs, Madison Scheer with 13 kills, Bella Bell with a .333 hitting percentage, and McCurdy with nine blocks.
Next up, Auburn will travel to Mississippi State on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 2p.m. CST. The game will be available to watch on the SEC Network.
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Jackie is a freshman majoring in Drug and Biopharmaceutical Sciences. She started with The Plainsman in fall 2024.
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