Nov. 22, 2016
AUBURN, Ala. -- The Auburn volleyball team faces two of the Southeastern Conference's top teams to close out the 2016 regular season, traveling to No. 9 Florida Wednesday and then hosting Texas A&M Saturday.
The Tigers and the Gators will square off at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday night in the Gale Lemerand Center Gymnasium and the match will be televised on SEC Network. Auburn will then return to The Plains for a 12:30 p.m. CT match vs. the Aggies Saturday in Auburn Arena. The contest will be streamed on SEC Network+.
SENIOR DAY SATURDAY
- Auburn will recognize three seniors prior to Saturday's match vs. Texas A&M -- Breanna Barksdale, Stephanie Campbell, and Leticia Silva (CiCi).
PROMOTIONS (SATURDAY)
- Fans attending AU's match vs. the Aggies will receive AU seat cushions (while supplies last). There will also be in-match bingo with prizes available.
QUICK HITS
- Auburn enters the week with a 15-14 overall record and are fifth in the SEC at 9-7 against league opponents.
- Auburn split the week last week, falling to then-No. 25 Missouri in four (17-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-19) on the road and sweeping South Carolina (25-20, 27-25, 25-14) Sunday in Auburn Arena.
- Junior libero Jesse Earl has had an outstanding season far for the Tigers. She reached the 1,000 dig mark in her career in Auburn's match vs. Kentucky (Nov. 4), becoming the 12th student-athlete in program history to do so.
- In addition, Earl broke her own single-season digs record vs. Ole Miss (Nov. 6). She currently has 577 on the year after breaking the record last season with 516.
- Earl and sophomore Brenna McIlroy have found a lot of success at the service line for the Tigers. Earl set a new single-season aces record (rally scoring only) and has 42 on the season. She ranks fifth in the SEC with a .37 average, while McIlroy is seventh at .32.
- Junior setter Alexa Filley leads the team with 18 double-doubles this season. That total is second overall among SEC opponents.
- The Louisville product needs three digs for 1,000 in her career. She will become just the second setter in program history to reach that milestone.
SCOUTING FLORIDA
- The No. 9 Florida Gators are looking to secure at least a share of the SEC regular season title, standing at 24-3 overall and 14-2 in the conference.
- The Gators lead the country with a .337 hitting percentage and are in the top 20 with a 14.31 kills/set average. The team also leads the SEC in opponent hitting percentage, limiting their opponents to a .163 average.
- Freshman Rachael Kramer and junior Rhamat Alhassan lead the league in hitting percentage, having a .526 and .431 percentage, respectively.
- Sophomore setter Allie Monserez is the nation's leader in assists per set, averaging 12.24.
A WIN OVER FLORIDA WOULD...
- Be Auburn's second win of the season over a ranked opponent.
- Give Auburn its 10th SEC win of the season, matching last year's total.
AUBURN-FLORIDA SERIES
- The Gators are 45-3 all-time against Auburn, including a perfect 19-0 in Gainesville.
- Florida won 41 straight matches before the Tigers topped the Gators last year in Auburn, 3-2.
LAST TIME VS. FLORIDA - NOV. 9, 2015
- Auburn used a collective team effort to earn a 3-2 (25-22, 16-25, 24-26, 25-21, 18-16) upset over No. 11 Florida, snapping a 41-match losing streak to the Gators that dated back to 1990.
- Courtney Crable had a stellar day for the Tigers, having 20 kills on 50 attempts with just two errors for a .360 hitting percentage. Brenna McIlroy added 19 kills, while Emily Klitzke finished with 10. Alexa Filley had a match-high 55 assists and 12 digs.
- The Auburn defense was on point, limiting the Gator offense to .206. Jesse Earl led the charge with 26 digs, while Alyssa Ivey and Taylor Schill finished with 13 and 10 digs, respectively. Breanna Barksdale led the team with five blocks on the day
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
- The Texas A&M Aggies stand at 19-8 overall and are fourth in the conference with a 13-3 mark.
The Aggie front row defense leads the conference and are 12th nationally with a 2.85 blocks/set average. Sophomore Kaitlyn Blake is the league's best with a 1.54 blocks/set average.
- Blake and senior Jazzmin Babers are among the top hitters in the league, having a .372 and .370 hitting percentage, respectively.
- Junior Stephanie Aiple is fourth in the SEC with a 10.89 assists/set average.
A WIN OVER TEXAS A&M WOULD...
- Give Auburn its second win over Texas A&M since the Aggies joined the SEC.
AUBURN-TEXAS A&M SERIES
- Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 8-1. The Aggies are 6-1 against Auburn since they joined the SEC in 2012.