AUBURN, Ala. – In front of the most fans to ever attend a Sunday match at Neville Arena, No. 24 Auburn Volleyball bounced back from its midweek road loss in a massive way, besting rival Georgia 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 25-20) to improve to 12-3 on the season and 2-2 in the SEC.
Both offenses came out of the gates firing on all cylinders in the opening set. The Bulldogs swung for .344 but the Tigers and senior setter Jackie Barrett were up to the challenge, putting together an even .400 hitting percentage themselves.
Sophomore outside hitter Akasha Anderson led the way, putting down six kills on her 18 swings. Fellow sophomore Madison Scheer may not have had the volume of sets but she didn't mess around when balls did come her way.
The Eureka, Missouri native had four kills on six swings with zero errors. Scheer was brilliant all afternoon long. She'd finish with 14 kills on an insane .414 hitting.
It was Auburn's No. 1 who dialed up the final kill via Barrett's 14th assist of the first set to give the Tigers the lead.
Set No. 2 was more of the same from both sides.
Georgia finished the frame with another hitting percentage north of .300 but the Orange and Blue offense remained red-hot, eclipsing .400 for a second time.
Barrett, the Highland, California product distributed her sets much more evenly in the second set, in part thanks to solid passing from the Tiger back row of Sarah Morton and Paige Thibault.
Thibault led the Tigers with 10 digs. Barrett and Morton both finished with eight on the afternoon.
Scheer compiled five more kills in the second, again without an error, on 10 swings. Anderson added four of her own and Kendal Kemp found three kills in her first match back from injury.
Mirroring the first, it was Scheer who found room to put the final nail in the coffin in the second set to inch her squad even closer to victory.
The Bulldogs weren't going to go away without a fight, though. Even though Anderson added four of her 17 kills in the third set, Georgia found four blocks midway through the frame to create some separation.
Barrett and Thibault each ran down three digs and Harmon added her ninth ace of the season. It wasn't quite enough, however, to climb out of the deficit as the match drifted into a fourth set.
It was back to basics for head coach Brent Crouch's Tigers in set No. 4. Everyone contributed in a frame that saw three ties and three lead changes.
Scheer and Anderson each grabbed three kills apiece, Morton added an ace, and Kemp and Swanson found a pair of blocks as Auburn kept Georgia at arm's length through the entire set.
It was Anderson's and Kemp's final rejection that gave the Tigers its second SEC win of the season and a much-needed bounce-back victory to end the weekend.
MATCH NOTES
- Auburn hit .262 on the afternoon, marking the eighth time the Tigers have hit north of .250 this season
- The 2,016 fans in attendance were the largest Sunday crowd in Auburn Volleyball history
- Brent Crouch improves to 4-1 against Georgia all-time
- Madison Scheer (14 kills) reached double digits for the 10th time in 2023
- Akasha Anderson (17 kills) reached double digits for the 11th time this season
- Paige Thibault (10 digs) reached double digits for the third time this season
UP NEXT
The Tigers will head back on the road for a date with both Florida and South Carolina next weekend. Auburn will be back inside Neville Arena on Oct. 20 against Missouri at 8 p.m. CT.