COLUMBIA, S.C. – How could you not be entertained?
For the second time in as many seasons, Auburn went the distance with South Carolina on the road. This time, it was the Orange and Blue that prevailed, 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13) to improve to 14-3 on the season and 4-2 in the SEC.
Both offenses were cruising in the opening frame, hitting well above .400. Akasha Anderson put down five kills while Bel Zimmerman grabbed four of her own.
Zimmerman was dynamic from the service line once again. Though she only dialed up one ace in the set, the Missouri product as well as Sarah Morton, Chelsey Harmon, Paige Thibault and Jackie Barrett were all stellar.
Finally creating some space, it was Anderson who dealt the final blow to give the Tigers the lead.
The Auburn block came alive in the early parts of the second set. Four big blocks coupled with more aggressive serving from Morton and Harmon had the Orange and Blue in solid rhythm.
South Carolina wasn't going to go away quickly, though. Setting up a block of their own, the Gamecocks fought back to take the lead at the midway point.
Even though the Tigers almost brought it back at the end of the set, stout serving from the home side and .147 hitting from Auburn was not enough to overtake the Gamecocks as the match drew even.
The Gamecocks had all the momentum to open up the third frame.
Auburn trailed by as many as six before Brent Crouch's crew started to work their way back. A block here, an ace there, the Tigers were never going to give up on a set.
However, the hole was just too much to overcome in the end as South Carolina took the lead heading into set four.
Once again, it was the service line that paid dividends for Auburn in the fourth. Thibault, Harmon, Barrett and Anderson all stepped up in moments of need.
The Tiger back row also kept points alive for the likes of Madison Scheer and Anderson to swing away. Morton led the way with a team-high 18 digs, Anderson followed with 15 and Barrett collected 12 of her own.
Scheer's insane weekend ended with 19 kills on .371 hitting and a full collection of highlight-worthy plays.
For Barrett, her 42 assists and 12 digs marked her eighth double-double of the season.
Even when things got close, the Orange and Blue stayed calm, cool and collected, inevitably sending the match into a decisive fifth set.
Last season, Crouch's team seemed to rise to the occasion time and time again. Sunday would be no different.
Scheer kicked the set off with a quick kill and the Tigers were off and rolling. Barrett's serves moved USC off the net and let the defense go to work. By the time the team switched sides, Auburn owned an 8-5 lead.
As tensions mounted late, Barrett and Kyla Swanson combined for the biggest blocks of the game to make it 13-10. In total, the Tigers mustered up 17 rejections, the second-most this season.
Fittingly, it was the Eureka, Missouri native in Scheer who finished off the fifth and gave her team the dramatic five-set victory.
MATCH NOTES
- Auburn's win over South Carolina was its first since 2017
- The Tiger's 17 blocks were the second-most this season
- The team's 56 assists were the most in a single match this year
- Auburn's nine service aces were tied for the second-most in 2023
- Madison Scheer (19 kills) reached double digits for the 12th time this season
- Sarah Morton (18 digs) reached double digits for the eighth time this year
- Akasha Anderson's four aces tie her career-high
- Anderson (14 kills, 15 digs) notched her fourth double-double of 2023
- Jackie Barrett (46 assists, 12 digs) grabbed her eighth double-double of the season
- Bel Zimmerman (10 kills) reached double digits for the seventh time this year
CROUCH'S COMMENTS
"That's a really tough team. They are going to win a ton of matches this year. Our offense wasn't clicking at the level we wanted, and we kind of expected that coming in, frankly. They are really good and big, and they are good at stopping left sides. It was fantastic to see Maddie [Scheer] handle that huge block and be a force offensively for us. Even though Akasha [Anderson] wasn't as effective attacking, she made some huge digs late in the fourth and into the fifth. It was great to see her contribute in other ways besides just on offense.
"We've been talking quite a bit about how to manage your emotions and deal with tough crowds. This is the third match in a row where I think we just stayed steady. When they beat us in a couple of sets, I didn't think we were panicking. I just thought they were playing really well and got on some serving runs. But we just stayed the course and to see that now three times in a row, and just doing our jobs, is creating some good core experiences to bring forward."
UP NEXT
Auburn heads back out on the road to Tennessee on Friday, Oct. 13. The Tigers will be back inside Neville Arena on Friday, Oct. 20 against Missouri at 6 p.m. CT.