Aug. 24, 2016
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Just as their teammates on the outside, the 2016 Auburn middle blockers will bring depth and experience this season.
"It's our most experienced position by far," head coach Rick Nold said. "We have a lot of options at middle blocker."
A trio of seniors in Stephanie Campbell (Wildwood, Mo.), Breanna Barksdale (San Diego, Calif.), and Emily Klitzke (Shawano, Wis.) concluded the 2015 season as the top blockers on the squad and were also major contributors offensively.
Campbell finished third on the team in total blocks with 73 and led the team with a .90 blocks/set average despite missing a handful of early matches last season because of injury. She also finished with a team-high .280 attack percentage, having 157 kills on 421 attempts. Her knowledge of the game will be key to Auburn's success in the position this year.
"Steph is our most experienced player who has a knack for finding openings and who just understands the sport," Nold said. "We definitely want to take advantage of both aspects."
Barksdale has been a consistent starter for the Tigers at middle blocker since joining the team in 2014 and finished with a team-best 94 blocks last season. Offensively, she came in fourth on the team with 242 kills and a 2.09 kills/set average.
Barksdale
"Breanna has made a tremendous amount of progress each year she's been here and it's definitely apparent going into this season," Nold said.
Klitzke, who came in third on the team with 274 kills last year, spent 2015 primarily on the right side. However, her size and skills defensively will make her a strong addition in the position group. The 6-2 senior finished with 77 blocks last season for the Tigers.
Klitzke
"Emily is a physical blocker and we want to utilize her defensive skills a lot this year," Nold said. "She had success at the right side, but does well attacking in the middle so we can see her play in either place."
Joining the senior trio is Gwyn Jones, a 6-3 freshman from Greenville, Indiana. Jones brings a wealth of experience at the highest club and high school level, competing for the Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy and Floyd Central High School. Her skills and size is a great addition to the already experienced middle blocking corps.
"Gwyn is really strong and has great size for this position," Nold said. "She attacks the slide very well and has a great arm. We're excited to see what she's capable of at this level."
With such a strong and skilled group, the middle blocker position is going to be a competitive and exciting one for the Tigers in 2016.
"This is definitely one of our deepest position groups," Nold said. "ÂThey are competitors and are pushing each other in practice. With the depth, we'll always have someone ready to step in and that is something we're excited about."
The Tigers open the 2016 season in Auburn Arena, hosting the War Eagle Invitational, Aug. 26-27. Auburn is set to welcome Georgia Tech, Furman and Pacific for the two-day tournament and will take on the Yellow Jackets Friday at 7 p.m. to kick off the year.
Stay tuned as AuburnTigers.com will take a look at the defensive specialists Thursday, Aug. 25!
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