OXFORD, Miss. – Road victories never come easy but Auburn Volleyball has found the right buttons to press at the right times.
Friday night in Oxford, the Orange and Blue were at it again, dialing a victory over Ole Miss, 3-1 (27-25, 15-25, 25-15, 25-23) for its seventh victory away from the Plains.
It was the strong serving of Jordan Sinness that kicked off the Tiger's initial run in the first set. Alongside an ace from Akasha Anderson, Auburn led by as many as eight points in the early going.
Junior setter Jackie Barrett was giving everyone chances as well. By the end of the set, Madison Scheer, Kendal Kemp, Bel Zimmerman and Chelsey Harmon all collected three kills apiece.
Ole Miss made things interesting by putting together a 5-0 run late but Fallan Lanham and Chelsey Harmon were having none of it at the service line. Fighting off a set point, Kemp slammed home the final kill to give the Orange and Blue the early advantage.
The Rebels jumped out to a quick lead in the second set and didn't look back. Capitalizing on a couple of errors from the service line, Auburn tried to find a way back in.
Bel Zimmerman delivered four of her 11 kills in the set, including a couple late in the frame trying to keep the Tigers within reach. However, .462 hitting was just too much to overcome as Ole Miss evened the match at one set apiece.
Whatever head coach Brent Crouch said during his timeout in the break, it worked.
With Anderson kicking off the third set, the Tigers rattled off four straight points to begin the frame.
It wasn't just the salacious serving, though. Auburn's block came alive as well. Specifically, Kendal Kemp.
Kemp rejected attack after attack, finishing with eight total blocks by end of the third. The tally gave Kemp the record for the most blocks in a single season and counting.
Crouch's crew went from hitting under .100 to .417, flipping the script to take the two-set lead. Auburn turned up the pressure defensively as well. Libero Sarah Morton would finish with a team-high 12 digs with Anderson close behind with 11.
The fourth set proved to be a thrilling back-and-forth affair. By the time the media timeout hit, the two programs were both hitting north of .350.
For Auburn, it was Madison Scheer who was simply magnificent throughout the evening. The Freshman from Eureka, Missouri led the charge with 15 kills on the night on a whopping .371 hitting percentage.
At 21-20, Crouch called another timeout and conjured up another bit of magic for the Orange and Blue. Scheer, alongside her Show Me State partner in Bel Zimmerman came up clutch, putting away the final two kills to secure the hard-fought road victory, 3-1.
MATCH NOTES
- Auburn moves to 21-5 on the season, tying the 2010 team in total wins
- Auburn's 10 SEC victories are the most since 2015
- Kendal Kemp (9 blocks) now has 144 on the season and owns the single-season program record
- Madison Scheer led the squad with 15 kills. She now has 10-plus kills in three straight matches
- Sarah Morton (12 digs) has reached double-figure dig totals in 22 matches this season
CROUCH'S COMMENTS
"Huge win. Ole Miss is a really solid team. This is a tough place to play. They're playing really loose right now, with a lot of confidence. I think it was just a great win when it really matters right now with four matches left. I thought they played really good defense, especially in the first two sets. I challenged our team to come out and play with some more intensity on the defensive side of the ball and that happened in the third set when we won, 25-15. I thought they brought their level up in the fourth and I don't think we played any worse. They just played better. You have to make plays and we made plays at the end of the game.
On Kendal Kemp's record…
"Just a special player and a special blocker. I want to celebrate this moment with her but I also know that she can break her own record next year. There's so much room for her to grow in that area. It sounds crazy to say but it's true. I'm really proud of her and it was cool to see her and the team celebrating it when we told her the news."
UP NEXT
Auburn gets 12 days off before heading back out on the road to Columbia, South Carolina for a date with the Gamecocks. The Tigers will be back in Neville Arena for the regular-season finale versus Arkansas Nov. 25 and 26.