AUBURN, Ala. – Freshmen Tatum Shipes and Mica Allison of the Auburn volleyball team picked up weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference, the league announced Monday. Shipes earned SEC Co-Freshman of the Week, while Allison was named the SEC Setter of the Week.
The two newcomers played big roles in Auburn's two conference wins this past weekend, helping the Tigers top Ole Miss in five sets (Oct. 26) and sweep Arkansas (Oct. 28) at home. The honor is the first for both, while Shipes is the third freshman Tiger to pick up that specific award.
Shipes had a big weekend for Auburn offensively, leading the Tigers with a 4.12 kills/set average. The 6-4 outside hitter kicked off the weekend with a career-high 21 kills vs. the Rebels Friday to lead all student-athletes in the match. In addition, she set a career best in blocks with six on the night, including two big stuffs in the fifth set.
Against Arkansas, Shipes picked up another double-digit kill mark for the Tigers in the sweep. She was rock solid at the net, hitting .409 with 12 kills on 22 attempts and just three errors. Defensively, the Buford, Ga., product set a career best in digs with five.
Allison paced the Auburn offense to big numbers over the two matches in Auburn Arena. She finished with a 12.88 assists/set average and guided the Tigers to a .306 hitting clip over eight sets played.
In the team's five-set win vs. Ole Miss, Allison led all student-athletes with a career-high 61 assists. That total marked the first time since 2015 an Auburn setter eclipsed 60 or more assists in a match. In addition, she reached a career best in kills with eight.
Versus the Razorbacks, Allison averaged 14 helpers/set as she finished with 42 in the contest. With her guidance, Auburn had one of its most efficient performances of the year as the team's .371 hitting clip marked the second best of 2018. Allison also tied her career high with six blocks.
Auburn remains on the Plains, hosting Texas A&M for a Wednesday-night showdown. The Tigers and the Aggies will go head-to-head on Halloween, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
