STARKVILLE, Miss. – Down two sets to one, Auburn (18-8, 8-7) nearly pulled off another miraculous comeback in Starkville on Wednesday. It was Mississippi State (12-13, 5-10), though, who emerged victorious in five sets, 3-2 (25-17, 16-25, 25-21, 24-26, 15-12).
Unforced errors led to early scoring runs for the Bulldogs. Auburn trailed by as many as eight before the tide began to turn.
Better serving, better passing and an overall lifted effort from the squad brought the Tigers back within four, 20-16.
However, a hitting percentage north of .300 and four aces were too much to overcome as the home side took the opening frame, forcing the Orange and Blue to play from behind.
Sensing a bit of momentum from the run at the end of the first set, Auburn started out on fire in the second. Akasha Anderson swung for five early kills as Kyla Swanson, Bella Bell, Kendal Kemp and the front row brought the block out.
Kemp rejected 10 total blocks on the night, tying her season-best.
Four huge rejections put the Tigers on a point-scoring roll. Anderson exploded for seven kills and two aces in the second frame alone. With Sarah Morton climbing to 13 digs by the end of the second, it was no surprise Auburn grabbed the set win to even the match at one apiece.
Morton's 22 digs marked the second time this season the sophomore has eclipsed 20.
Auburn never quite found a rhythm in the third set. The two were deadlocked at 12 points before Mississippi State found a couple of kills to create some distance.
Madison Scheer found a pair of kills late but another .300 hitting percentage from the Bulldogs meant the Tigers were going to have to come from behind if they wanted to pull off a victory in Starkville.
Serve receive was the name of the game in the fourth set. When passes were good, the likes of Scheer, Anderson, Swanson, Bell and Kemp were all feasting on easy kills.
Anderson would finish with 22 kills and 14 digs, notching her sixth double-double of the season.
Auburn trailed late, 22-18, but Crouch's teams don't like to lose. A 3-0 run got them right back in the set.
As the frame drifted into extra points, Fallan Lanham's ace gave the Tigers their first lead of the entire set, 25-24. A point later, Auburn finally pushed things into a decisive fifth set.
Back and forth the two programs traded blows in the fifth. Scheer, Anderson and Swanson all found kills as not much separated the Tigers and Bulldogs.
A Chelsey Harmon ace tied things at 11 but a 4-1 run from the home side put the match to bed for Mississippi State, 3-2.
MATCH NOTES
- Madison Scheer (13 kills) reached double digits for the 20th time this season
- Sarah Morton's 22 digs were the second most she's carded this season and the third time she's reached at least 20
- Akasha Anderson (20 kills, 14 digs) notched her sixth double-double of the season
- Jackie Barrett (45 assists, 10 digs) grabbed her 14th double-double of the year
- Kendal Kemp tied her season-high with 10 blocks
- Fallan Lanham grabbed 12 digs, reaching double digits for the third time this season
UP NEXT
Auburn will be back home for the final three matches of the season, beginning on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. CT when the team hosts LSU for Military Appreciation Day.