AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn Volleyball team begins SEC play with two-straight road games. The Tigers will compete against No. 12 Florida on Sept. 27, before closing out the month in Columbia, S.C. against the Gamecocks.
"Right now, everybody's hungry," head coach Rick Nold said. "It's a nice response from them. We've got a lot to work on. They know that, and they love that part. We'll get in the gym and get after it. We've got a lot of people that have, and can make a difference."
Auburn kicks off conference action with a 6 p.m. CT match Friday against the Gators before facing off with USC at 12:30 p.m. CT on Sunday. Both games are available for streaming on SEC Network+.
QUICK HITS
-Auburn (6-5) bounced back from a four-set defeat against Michigan State to capture back-to-back sweeps at the Western Michigan Tournament defeating WMU and IUPUI.
-A pair of Tigers in junior Chesney McClellan and senior Enija Bidzane put up double-digit kills against the Broncos. McClellan finished with 12, while Bidzane chipped in 10.
-Junior setter Morgan Kull had a career-high 32 assists for the Tigers. Sophomore Payton White led all student-athletes with 21 digs, while Tatum Shipes had 11 against WMU.
-Junior Jaeden Brown and Shipes each finished with nine kills for the Tigers, while sophomore Val Green added eight against the Jaguars.
-Shipes and P. White were named to the Western Michigan All-Tournament team..
UP NEXT
Auburn returns to The Plains for the first time in over a month to face in-state rival Alabama on Wednesday, Oct. 2. First serve set is for 7 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
SCOUTING FLORIDA
- The No. 12 Florida Gators enter SEC play with a record of 9-2, with both losses coming against top-10 teams in Stanford and Minnesota.
- The Gators are the highest-ranking SEC team in the poll and are the only conference squad in the Top-15.
- The 2019 Florida squad features no freshmen, as the only two newcomers were transfers.
- Allie Gregory, a senior libero, was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week after she registered 57 digs (4.75 per set) in a 4-0 week for the Gators. In Wednesday's 3-0 win over No. 23 Florida State, Gregory has 12 digs. She later recorded a career-high 24 digs in Saturday's win over Louisiana.
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
- South Carolina is coming off a 3-0 week wrapping up non-conference action with a 8-4 record. The Gamecocks defeated Maryland, Kennesaw State and High Point in the Gamecock Invitational.
- The Gamecocks return all six starters from last season, which saw USC return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 16 years.
- Senior Mikayla Shields currently sits 10th in the SEC in kills per set averaging 3.33. The Orlando, Fla. native has totaled 1,282 kills throughout her career.
- Setter Courtney Koehler recorded her 3,000th career assist in the win over High Point.