Shipes sets blocking record in five-set victory against Alabama

AUBURN, Ala.– Senior Tatum Shipes' record-breaking performance carried Auburn volleyball (9-4, 1-2 SEC) to its first victory in Southeastern Conference play as the Tigers defeated in-state rival Alabama (8-7, 0-3 SEC) in five sets (25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-5) at Auburn Arena.

The victory was Auburn's first conference win of the season. It was Auburn's first victory in SEC play since sweeping Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 30, 2019. It was the Tigers' first home victory in conference play since knocking of Mississippi State, 3-2, on Nov. 21, 2018.

Shipes recorded two solo blocks and 10 block assists to set the program's single-match record for blocks in the rally scoring era with 12.0 total. The previous record of 11.0 was set on Nov. 23, 2016 by Breanna Barksdale at Florida.

"It is really impressive what Tatum is doing," said head coach Brent Crouch. "This is the first time she's played middle blocker in college. She must understand situations that are happening, and she must understand where passes are going and what sets are most likely to happen. That type of knowledge and reading takes a long time to get good at. The fact that she is performing at this level blocking is impressive. I haven't seen anybody get as good at blocking as fast as she has. She's one of the best blocking middle blockers in the conference and she's going to be moving up the stats after this performance."  

As a team, Auburn totaled 18.0 blocks, which ties the program's record for team total blocks in the rally scoring era. The Tigers also totaled 18.0 team blocks against South Florida on Sept. 13, 2014.

Contributing to the Tigers' blocking effort was senior Rebekah Rath, who totaled a season-high 7.0 blocks. Seniors Elif Yavuz and Val Green added 6.0 and 5.0 total blocks, respectively.

Combined with its play at the net and digging efforts on the court, Auburn held Alabama to a .094 hitting percentage. Senior Bella Rosenthall paced the Tigers with 24 digs for her 13th career match with at least 20 digs.

Rath picked up her fourth double-double of the season as she led the Tiger offense with 22 kills while also chipping in 11 digs. Rath has recorded at least 20 kills in three matches this season. Graduate student Liz Reich also finished in double-digit kills with 11. Green chipped in nine kills while Shipes closed the match with seven.

"Playing a team with defense like that is really fun," said Rath. "You get to explore your shots and explore your toolbox. It forces you to play outside your comfort zone and be really aggressive." 

Sophomore setter Jackie Barrett dished out 43 assists and added 14 digs for her eighth double-double for­­ the season. Barrett also added four blocks and a kill.

SET ONE
Auburn used costly Alabama errors as well as kills from Reich and Rath to build up a five-point lead, 10-5, and force an early Alabama timeout. The two squads traded points, as Alabama used a 3-0 run to cut the lead to one, 15-14. Neither team could find an advantage as set was tied 20-all in the late stages. Auburn used a Reich kill and a block from Rath and Shipes to take a 22-20 lead and force an Alabama timeout. After trading a pair of blocks, back-to-back kills from Shipes and Rath put the set away, 25-21.
 
SET TWO
Set two was a back-and-forth affair that featured eight ties through the early points before a pair of kills from Sami Jacobs gave Alabama an 10-8 advantage. Alabama used costly errors and a pair of Shaye Eggleston kills to extend its lead to 14-11 and force a Tiger timeout. Following the timeout, Auburn continued to struggle offensively with three attack errors to allow Alabama to extend its lead to six points. The Tigers continued to battle with a late 4-0 run, but a pair of Alabama kills and a service ace for the Tide closed the set, 25-20, to even the match.
 
SET THREE
Auburn battled from behind early before tying the set at 6-all with a block from Green and Shipes. The two squads then traded points to record four more ties before Green gave Auburn an 11-10 advantage. Auburn would hold on to its lead heading into the media time out, 15-13, with help of a Rath kill. Errors plagued the Crimson Tide to build the Tiger lead to 19-15 and force an Alabama timeout. The combo of Reich and Rath hammered home kills in the final stages to carry Auburn to a 25-21 victory.
 
SET FOUR
Alabama opened the set with five straight points as Auburn struggled to put together any offensive runs through the early stages. Auburn battled late and cut the lead to 19-17, but timely kills from the Crimson Tide proved the difference as Alabama evened the match with a 25-20 set victory.
 
SET FIVE
Everything fell the Tigers way in the final stanza as Alabama was plagued with an attack error and error on the service line before Shipes delivered a kill and a solo block to put Auburn up 4-1. Following the timeout, Rath recorded a kill that was followed by back-to-back attack errors by Alabama to extend Auburn's lead to 7-1. The Tide committed four more attacking errors, before Shipes landed a kill, pushing the Tigers lead to 12-3. Auburn closed the match with a pair of kills from Yavuz and one for Reich for a dominating 15-5 victory in the final stanza.
 
UP NEXT
The Tigers return to Auburn Arena on Sunday for a rematch with the Crimson Tide. First serve on ESPNU is set for 2 p.m. CT.