The No. 25 Auburn Tigers (13-2) will travel to Starkville, MS, to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-5) as SEC play continues
Coming off a recent loss at home to the Aggies, the Tigers are looking to revive themselves on the road to push their conference record to 4-1.
Despite the Tiger’s recent loss, Auburn’s offense has stayed solid. Against the Aggies, three separate outside hitters had double digits in kills; Madison Scheer (13), Lauren Dreves (10) and Bel Zimmerman (10).
Hitting double digits in kills was Scheer’s 12th time doing it this season, Zimmerman’s ninth and Dreves’ sixth time. It’s clear when the ball is set to any of these hitters, they’ll deliver.
As with the offense, Auburn’s defense continues to look promising through libero Alexis Dacosta having 40 digs, bringing her season total to 191. Having 17 digs in her last game, she has now reached double digits in digs 11 times this season.
Upsetting No. 12 Kentucky two weeks ago, the Tigers are ranked fourth in the SEC. However, No. 7 Texas and No. 19 Florida are both coming up on their schedule, proving to be crucial matches.
As SEC play unravels, the Tigers should take each game at a time, including tough road tests, like Mississippi State, to help their positioning within the conference.
On Sunday, the Bulldogs will be looking to capitalize on their home advantage to pull off an SEC upset against the Tigers.
The last time these two teams met, Mississippi State walked off with the win, and on Sunday, they’ll be looking to do that again. As in the last 10 matchups, Mississippi State is 6-4 against Auburn.
This season, the Bulldogs have had success as well as some setbacks. Only being 1-2 within the conference so far, this team has enough room and time to put up a fight within the SEC.
In the month of September, the Bulldogs were hot, having a six-game winning streak before falling to LSU. This matchup against Auburn is an opportunity for the Bulldogs to even out their conference record.
Outside hitter Kailin Newsome has been a name for the Bulldogs, leading the team in kills (148) while scoring the most points (165.5) this season. Defensively, she leads the team with 134 total digs — proving how influential she is on both sides of the ball.
Alongside her, outside hitter Karli Schmidt and rightside Amina Shackelford have been critical, recording a total of 218 kills together, adding to the team’s overall total. Shackelford also leads the team in blocks (41).
Breaking down the statistics, the Bulldogs outrank their opponents in several categories including kills (614), assists (589), digs (710) and blocks (115).
By outranking their opponents in a majority of categories, it reflects the Bulldog’s skill-level while showing how dominant they can be as this season furthers.
It just means more in the SEC, and with an SEC matchup like this one, anything can happen.
This matchup will be a test for both teams, as they face off on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. CST, airing on the SEC Network.
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Ginny is a junior majoring in sports production. She joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
