In the regular season final and tiger vs tiger matchup, Auburn (14-13, 4-12 SEC) falls to No. 24 Missouri (20-8, 11-5 SEC) in Columbia, MO
Despite the loss, the Tigers offense, led by outside hitter Madison Scheer, had a game. During the match, Scheer reached double digits in kills (12) for the 23rd time this season, adding to her season total of 352.
In the first set, Auburn tried to get up quick with Scheer recording three kills with right side hitter Bella Bell right behind her with two. However, Missouri’s defense managed to hold Auburn off, setting the record to 1-0 and ultimately sweeping.
On the serve, Auburn improved with two out of three aces coming from the freshman outsider hitter Lauren Dreves and freshman setter Kaeli Edson. But, Missouri still found ways around the serve to get the lead.
During the match, Auburn’s defense strived, especially in the back row. Outside hitter Lauren Dreves and libero Alexis Dacosta worked together, ecording eight digs overall. Regardless of the effort, Missouri’s offense was relentless, hitting .295 in the first set, .464 in the second and .517 to finish.
Yet, Auburn wasn't wanting to give up yet and that started with Scheer. Scheer ultimately added three more kills late to her total of 12 on .379 hitting. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome Missouri defensively.
On the match, Coach Brent Crouch said, “A difficult way to end the regular season for sure. Regardless of what our record says, this team has been the best iteration of Auburn Volleyball in program history. We’re a better volleyball team from 2022, a better team than last year and we’ll continue to get better. The SEC is the best that it’s ever been. That’s a good thing for our league and ultimately a good thing for us going forward…”
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Ginny is a junior majoring in sports production. She joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
