ATLANTA, GA. – Early morning volleyball is never easy, especially after an emotional win the night before. Auburn proved up to the challenge, though, finding a new gear to get by Marist, 3-1 (25-20, 15-25, 25-9, 25-12)
Sophomore Fallan Lanham didn't waste any time igniting her team at the service line. Opening the match with an ace, Lanham fueled a 5-1 start as Auburn settled into the Saturday morning affair.
Fellow sophomore Jordan Sinness ran the offense spreading the love around early and often. Chelsey Harmon and Akasha Anderson each claimed two kills midway through the set. The Freshman Anderson led the squad with three by its end.
Serve-receive remained the constant for the Tigers in the opening frame. Aces from Sinness and newly-crowned ace queen Kendal Kemp put the first set to bed.
Anderson continued her productive morning at GSU Sports Arena. By the end of the second set, the Reston, Virginia native was swinging .444 with five. Anderson would end the morning with a team-high 12 kills on .526 hitting.
The Red Foxes wouldn't go away, though. As a team, Marist hit .407 en route to even the match at one set apiece.
Auburn cranked up the intensity in the third.
Anderson, Cassidy Tanton and Bel Zimmerman put on an offensive showcase. Together, the Tigers hit an insane .667 without an error, leaving no doubt about the set's outcome.
Tanton, the redshirt freshman out of North Carolina turned in inarguably her best performance in the Blue and Orange. Tanton finished with 10 kills on .348 hitting.
Not to leave out the effort in the middle. Chelsey Harmon and Kendal Kemp kept the touches coming. By the start of the fourth set, the two combined for 11 block assists.
Three aces kickstarted another red-hot start to the fourth set. The dynamic serving barrage, combined with a prolific rate of offense gave the Tigers all the confidence they needed to close out its perfect start to 2022.
While Auburn didn't equal the .667 of the third set, Barrett led the Tigers to .412 in the fourth. As a team, Crouch's squad hit .356 in the victory, its best hitting percentage since securing .456 against Jackson State on Aug. 28 last season.
MATCH NOTES
- Akasha Anderson (12) and Cassidy (10) Tanton each reached double-figure kill totals. Both career-highs
- Bel Zimmerman's 9 kills totaled a career-best.
- Auburn's 14 blocks and 11 aces were both season-highs
- Kendal Kemp's 9.0 blocks matched the freshman's career-best.
- Auburn's .356 hitting percentage was its best since swinging .457 against Jackson State on Aug. 28 of 2021.
- Chelsey Harmon's four blocks were a season-high, two shy of her career-best at Portland.
CROUCH'S COMMENTS
"We didn't get back to the hotel until nearly 10 p.m. last night and then to flip around and play a match early this morning is hard, especially because it was an emotional one last night. We came out a little flat, which was expected but I was extremely proud of how we responded.
"We changed some things around in the second set and challenged the team to push through the fatigue, and the response was obvious. A lot of growing this weekend and a number of different situations to experience. Glad we came out on top."
On Cassidy Tanton and other players making an impact Saturday…
"I have seen her do this in practice time and time again, so I wasn't particularly surprised. She had a few nerves early but powered through and had a great match. When we orchestrate the offense at the tempo we want to, everyone benefits."