AUBURN, Ala. – The 2022 Auburn Volleyball season officially kicks off on Friday with a flurry of action for the Tigers at the Panther Invitational.
Head coach Brent Crouch's crew gets the year started in Atlanta on Friday, Aug. 26 with a doubleheader against Belmont (0-0, 0-0) at 9:30 a.m. CT and host Georgia State (0-0, 0-0) later in the evening at 6 p.m. CT. Auburn wraps up its first non-conference tournament of this year's campaign with Marist (0-0, 0-0) on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. CT.
QUICK HITS
Brent Crouch begins his third year in charge of the Auburn Volleyball program. A season ago, his Tigers finished 13-15 setting multiple team and individual records along the way.
Rebekah Rath is back much to the dismay of the rest of the Southeastern Conference. Rath led the SEC in kills per set in 2021 and set Auburn's single-season kills record (438).
The Tigers welcome eight new faces to the 2022 roster. Seven freshmen along with Portland transfer Chesley Harmon will each make their Auburn debut in the Blue and Orange over the weekend. The 2022 class was ranked No. 29 in the country by PrepVolleyball.com.
Along with Rath, Jackie Barrett, Jordan Sinness, Fallan Lanham and Cassidy Tanton all return to the Plains for another year. Tanton redshirted 2021 while Barrett and Sinnesss each saw time at setter. Lanham played in all 28 matches, starting 19 of them.
Crouch also welcomes two new assistants to his staff this season. Keith Smith joins the fray after a wealth of success with Grand Canyon's men's team as well as recent work with USA Volleyball.
Rachel Corbelli arrives in Auburn after seven years with Austin Juniors, one of the top club volleyball programs in the country. Her coaching lineage runs deep as Rachel is the daughter of John and Laurie Corbelli, long-time coaches at Texas A&M. Her brother, Russell, is also an assistant at Missouri.
Auburn will be eyeing a similar start to 2021. Last season, the Tigers began the year 6-0 matching the program's best mark since 2012 and tied the record for most sweeps to start a year with five.
SCOUTING BELMONT
Head coach Katelyn Harrison enters her fourth year at the helm of the Bruin Volleyball program. In 2021, Harrison's squad garnered nine wins, the most since 2017. This season marks a different milestone for Belmont athletics, moving from the Ohio Valley Conference to the Missouri Valley Conference.
Junior outside hitter Laura Shoopman has already shown her prowess in the preseason. The Salem, Wisconsin native stacked up 20 kills with a .485 hitting percentage in an exhibition against fellow SEC member Tennessee over the weekend.
Like Auburn, the Bruins bring an abundance of youth to the matchup. Six freshmen and Syracuse transfer Peyton O'Brien will all compete for pivotal roles on the team.
Friday morning marks the second meeting between the two programs. The Tigers and Bruins met for the first time last season at Neville Arena. Auburn swept Belmont 3-0, (25-8, 25-12, 25-12).
SCOUTING GEORGIA STATE
It's a new era in Atlanta for Georgia State Volleyball. Terry Hutchinson makes his debut as head coach for the Panthers after five years serving under Don Metil at Towson. Hutchinson's Tiger teams made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a handful of 20-win seasons.
The Panthers graduated standout middle blocker Meisheia Griffin but return the likes of Isabelle Percoco, Julianna Truscott and Laura Ehieze in the front row along with the 2021 digs leader Ava Vlkovic, who ranked eighth in the Sun Belt in total digs a season ago.
Auburn and Georgia State have met 18 times across the history of the two schools. However, the Tigers and Panthers haven't locked horns since Aug. 28 of 2007 when Auburn swept Georgia State 3-0, (30-23, 30-25, 30-16).
SCOUTING MARIST
Thirteenth-year head coach Sean Byron brings a Marist team to Atlanta that was picked to finish fourth in the MAAC preseason coaches poll. The Red Foxes also bolstered two players named to the Preseason All-MAAC team.
Sophomore Jordan Newblatt led Maris in kills a season ago and finished second in digs. The Clarkston, Michigan native also reset her own single-match kills record with 34 against Niagara.
Setter McKinley Fox returns for her senior campaign. Last season, Fox piled up 25 aces, 261 digs and 48 blocks to go with her 1,096 assists.
As a team, Byron's Red Foxes ranked inside the top five in the MAAC in nearly every statistical category but particularly excelled in digs. Marist ranked No. 32 nationally in total digs in 2021 with 1,902.
Auburn's only matchup with Marist came in 2002 when the Tigers bested the Red Foxes, 3-1 (34-32, 19-30, 30-20, 30-23) in Hartford, Connecticut. However, the two schools haven't met since the dawn of the 25-point rally scoring era.
UP NEXT
Auburn returns to the Plains for its home opener in Neville Arena on Wednesday, Aug. 31 against Alabama State at 7 p.m. CT. Doors open at 6 p.m. and admission is free.
Auburn Volleyball opens season at Panther Invitational
