The Auburn Tigers fell in four sets to the Florida Gators in their final home game of the season on Wednesday night. Auburn fell in a 3-1 loss (17-25, 23-25, 25-20, 21-25).
Both teams hit well, with Auburn hitting a .236 and Florida hitting a .272. Madison Scheer led the Tigers with 18 kills, with Bel Zimmerman and Lauren Dreves following close behind with 11 and eight kills respectively. Alexis Dacosta again led the defense in digs, tallying 15 against a hard-hitting Gator offense.
While putting forth an impressive offensive effort, the Tigers struggled defensively in containing the explosive Florida offense. In particular, the Tigers couldn’t contain Florida’s 6-foot-6 Kennedy Martin, who hit a .333 and ended the night with 31 kills. Auburn tallied 56 digs in four sets, lower than the average 16.1 digs per set the Tigers normally produce. They also struggled with errors, recording 13 service errors, 14 attack errors and two blocking errors, losing points that were costly later in the game.
Not only were the Tigers not able to contain Florida on the net, but the Gators also played excellent defense, totaling seven blocks and 77 digs to obstruct the Auburn offense. While Auburn had one more attempt than Florida, the Gators managed 62 kills to Auburn’s 49 due to their ability to curb Auburn’s offensive productivity.
Auburn honored its four seniors — Paige Thibault, Bella Bell, Chelsey McCurdy, and Fallan Lanham — several of whom delivered strong performances in their final home game on Wednesday.
Right-side hitter Bell had seven kills, one dig and two blocks against the Gators, hitting a .400 for the evening. Bell has been a strong force on the net during her two seasons at Auburn and has only continued to excel throughout her career. This fall, Bell recorded a career-high 22 kills against Alabama. Bell boasts 1.985 kills per set for her career, as well as a whopping 645 career kills.
Middle blocker McCurdy ended the contest with two kills, two digs and four blocks. McCurdy has been an integral part of Auburn’s success during her three-year tenure as a Tiger both offensively and defensively, recording 305 kills and 247 blocks. McCurdy recently recorded a season and career-high 10 blocks against South Alabama this fall.
Defensive specialist Lanham had 11 digs, helping to keep the game close despite the dominant Florida hitters. Lanham, who has played all four years of her collegiate volleyball career as a Tiger, has been a constant defensive presence for Auburn. This season Lanham reached her 500th career dig, a major milestone. Lanham is also a strong server for Auburn, recording 13 service aces this season.
The Tigers will be back in action against Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. on Sunday, Nov. 24th at 5:00 p.m. CST. The game will be available to watch on ESPN.
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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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