AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn volleyball caps its long road stint in Oxford, Miss., taking on Ole Miss Sunday afternoon. The Tigers and the Rebels will go head-to-head at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network in the Gillom Athletics Performance Center.
"Ole Miss is always a sound team that is good in many areas of the game," head coach Rick Nold said. "We're both looking for our first conference win so it's going to be a battle Sunday afternoon on the road. At the end of this trip, our young team will have definitely felt the rigors of conference play and hopefully we can continue to learn from every experience."
QUICK HITS
- Auburn (7-6, 0-3) dropped a five-set heartbreaker (21-25, 12-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-13) at Mississippi State Wednesday night in the Newell-Grissom Building.
- Senior Brenna McIlroy led the squad with 19 kills, while junior Gwyn Jones chipped in a season-high 17 for the Tigers.
- The Tiger blockers put together a solid performance, having 13 as a squad. Sophomore Anna Stevenson set a career best with nine stuffs and Jones had her hand on five. Freshman Mica Allison and McIlroy finished with three apiece.
- Allison set a career high with 54 assists.
- McIlroy picked up where she has left off the last three season, leading the Tigers offensively on the outside. The Garland, Texas, product has 3.21 kills/set average on the year with 158 over 49 sets played.
With 1,134 kills so far in her career, McIlroy needs just 50 digs for 1,000 and will become the seventh Tiger to achieve both milestones in a career.
- Sunday's match at Ole Miss will be McIlroy's 100th played while donning an Auburn jersey.
- Freshman Mica Allison as earned the starting nod in all matches at setter for the Tigers the year. The White Heath, Ill., native is sixth in the Southeastern Conference with a 10.06 assists/set average.
- Auburn's 2018 schedule boasts 10 2017 NCAA Tournament participants.
- Head Coach Rick Nold stands at 115-107 in his eighth season on the Plains.
- Auburn returns five of seven starters from the 2017 season.
- The 2018 Auburn volleyball incoming class is ranked the seventh-best freshman class in the nation.
- Auburn was picked sixth in the SEC Preseason Coaches' poll.
UP NEXT
The Tigers finally return to Auburn Arena next week, starting with a Wednesday-night contest vs. Georgia. AU and the Bulldogs face off at 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU. The Tigers follow with a Sunday afternoon tilt against Alabama at home, starting at 1:30 p.m. CT on SEC+.
SCOUTING OLE MISS
- The Ole Miss Rebels are 10-6 overall with a 0-2 mark in the Southeastern Conference. The team is coming off a 3-0 loss at home to Georgia Friday night.
- Junior Emily Stroup leads the SEC overall with a 4.53 kills/set average. Her 4.17 mark against conference-only opponents is third.
- Stroup's 4.98 points/set overall is second in the SEC.
- Junior Nayo Warnell stands fifth in the league overall with a .359 hitting clip.
- Junior Jordan Fate and sophomore Lauren Bars split time at setter for the Rebels. Fate has a 6.53 assists/set mark, while Bars stands at 5.21.
A WIN OVER OLE MISS WOULD...
- Be Auburn's fifth-straight win over the Rebels and the ninth in the last 11 meetings.
AUBURN-OLE MISS SERIES
- Sunday's match will be the 64th meeting between the two teams. The Rebels hold a 34-29 series record.
- The series is tied, 14-14, in matches played in Oxford. Auburn has won the last three contests on the road.
- The series history dates back to 1974. Auburn and Ole Miss faced off in 11-straight neutral matches until 1987.
