Auburn Tiger Volleyball Team Hosts A Pair Of SEC East Opponents This Weekend
AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn volleyball team returns to the Student
Activities Center for a pair of SEC East match-ups. The Tigers take on
South Carolina Friday at 7 p.m. and follow with a 1 p.m. match against
top-ranked Florida. Auburn’s match against the No. 1 Gators is set to
be televised live on CSS - Comcast / Charter Sports Southeast.
“We’re excited to be at home this weekend after a long road trip
last weekend,” head coach Wade Benson said. “South Carolina is
playing better and is a very consistent team that we match up well
physically. Florida is the type of team that is ready to slug it out,
but playing at home and on television is going to be beneficial for
us.”
Live stats are available and can be found on Auburn volleyball’s
schedule website. Also, get in-match updates by following AUVolleyball
on Twitter.
UP NEXT
Auburn closes out its home schedule on Nov. 14 when SEC West foe Ole
Miss comes to town for a 1:30 p.m. match. The Tigers will honor their
five seniors prior to the match.
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina comes to Auburn with a 5-18 overall mark and are 2-11 in
the SEC. The Gamecocks are coming off a pair of SEC road losses last
week, falling at No. 1 Florida on Oct. 27 in three sets and at Ole Miss
on Oct. 31 in four sets.
Senior libero Hannah Lawing leads the team and the conference with a
4.98 digs-per-set average and has amassed 408 total digs on the season
so far. Sophomore setter is seventh in the conference with a 7.43
assists-per-set average and has a total of 609 assists this year.
Freshman Juliette Thevenin sits at 10th in the league in service aces,
averaging 0.27 service aces per set.
The Gamecocks lead the series with a 19-10 overall mark over the
Tigers. Friday’s match is the second meeting between the two teams
this season as Auburn defeated South Carolina in three sets, 3-0, Oct.
17 in Columbia. The Tigers put together a strong defensive performance
at the net, tying a school record with 15 blocks in the three-set win.
Lauren Mellor had seven blocks, while Alyssa Davis had six to lead
Auburn. Sarah Bullock finished with 11 kills and three blocks, while
Morgan Johns finished with eight kills and five blocks.
SCOUTING FLORIDA
The top-ranked Florida Gators stand at 20-1 on the season and have a
perfect 13-0 record in SEC competition. The squad concluded last weekend
with a pair of three-set sweeps. The Gators topped South Carolina, 3-0,
on Oct. 27 and followed with a 3-0 victory at Ole Miss on Oct. 29.
Junior Kelly Murphy leads the Florida offense with 239 total kills on
the season and a .382 attack percentage with a 3.23 kills-per-set
average. Her attack percentage places her third in the league and her
kills average is eighth overall. Murphy is also second on the squad with
a 5.43 assists-per-set average. Senior Lauren Bledsoe and junior
Cassandra Anderson are tied for sixth in the league with a .357 attack
percentage, while Murphy and Callie Rivers are first (0.39) and second
(0.34) in service aces, respectively.
The Gators hold a 35-1 series record over Auburn with the Tigers’
only victory coming in four sets at home during the 1990 season. In the
team’s previous meeting this season, Florida took a three-set victory
over Auburn. Kelly Fidero had eight kills and a career-best seven digs
for Auburn. Setter Chelsea Wintzinger had 14 assists and 11 digs, while
Jonelle Wallace had six kills and Sarah Wroblicky had eight digs.
