AUBURN, Ala. – Hitting the road for the first time this season, Auburn volleyball (0-2, 0-2 SEC) travels to Columbia, S.C., to face the Gamecocks (1-1, 1-1 SEC) Wednesday and Thursday inside the Carolina Volleyball Center for the first of two fall road trips for the Tigers.
"Traveling to South Carolina will be a challenge," said head coach Brent Crouch. "They are a good team that has tournament aspirations. They're physical. I expect something similar to the Florida match in terms of competitiveness. You will not see quit out of our team at any point. You'll see some improvement of really every aspect of the game, so I'm expecting to be scoring more points in every set."
The series opens Wednesday night with a 7 p.m. CT first serve on the SEC Network. It will be a short turnaround in Columbia, as Auburn returns to the court Thursday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. CT. First serve will be on the SEC Network+.
QUICK HITS
- Auburn returns to action Wednesday and Thursday at South Carolina, searching for the first Auburn win for first-year head coach Brent Crouch and Auburn's first win over South Carolina since 2017.
- Senior Lauren Dorrell posted a career night off the bench versus #4 Florida, setting career highs in kills (6), attacks (15), hitting percentage (.133), digs (6), blocks (2) and points (7.0).
- Taking over at setter midway against the Gators, Bella Rosenthall set a career high with 10 assists. It was her first time playing the position since high school.
- As a squad, the Tigers averaged 13.33 digs per set to rank eighth in the Southeastern Conference.
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina enters the midweek series with a 1-1 overall record after splitting back-to-back matches at Georgia to open the 2020 season.
The Gamecocks lead the nation with a 4.00 blocks per set average as a team. Freshman Ellie Ruprich leads the nation with a 2.71 blocks per set average and ranks third overall in the SEC with 19 total blocks.
Graduate student Kyla Manning leads the offense with 24 kills and ranks eighth in the conference with a 3.43 kills per set mark. She also ranks eighth in the SEC in aces per set (0.43).
Graduate student Mallory Dixon paces the offense with 44 assists to guide the team to a .302 hitting percentage, third-highest in the SEC. Five Gamecocks already have registered double-digit digs this season, led by Dixon (16).
UP NEXT
Auburn wraps up its road swing with back-to-back matches against reigning Co-SEC Champion No. 3 Kentucky in Lexington. Auburn opens the series at Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+. The series concludes on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.