AUBURN, Ala. – Head coach Brent Crouch and the No. 24 Auburn Tigers (17-5, 7-4) head to Texas A&M (15-7, 7-5) on Sunday, Nov. 5 for another road trip before returning to the Plains. First serve is set for 3 p.m. CT.
The match will be broadcast live on SEC Network. Eric Frede and Nicole Branagh will have the call.
QUICK HITS
Auburn enters the weekend at No. 24 in the AVCA/Taraflex Coaches Poll. It's the ninth consecutive week the Tigers have appeared in the top 25.
Few outside hitters are operating at the production level of Madison Scheer. The Eureka Missouri native is coming off her second SEC Weekly honors of the season following her third-straight 20-kill performance. Over the last three matches, Scheer has piled up 69 kills on .313 hitting, averaging a monstrous 5.29 points per set.
Scheer, along with fellow Sophomore Akasha Anderson, are a dynamic duo that's hard to stop. Anderson ranks seventh in the SEC in kills per set at 3.45 while Scheer's 3.44 sits eighth.
When talking about dynamic duos, you can't leave out Kendal Kemp and Kyla Swanson. Auburn's pair of middle blockers each rank in the top 10 in the conference in both blocks per set and total blocks. Kemp paces the Tigers (1.29 blocks per set, 94 total blocks) while Swanson has come on strong (1.14 blocks per set, 97 total blocks). Kemp is also swinging for a career-best .391.
Paige Thibault has also stepped her game up as of late. The junior transfer from FIU was thrust into the starting lineup due to injuries and responded with three straight double-digit dig efforts. In back-to-back wins over South Carolina and Georgia, the Watertown, Minnesota product set and tied her career-high with 23 digs.
Senior setter Jackie Barrett continues to fill the stat sheet. During Auburn's four-set win over rival Alabama, Barrett notched her team-leading 13th double-double of the season with 44 assists and 11 digs to go along with her four blocks and four aces.
LAST TIME OUT VS TEXAS A&M
In two extremely competitive matches, Auburn took on the Aggies at this exact time last year. The Tigers won both matches in four sets. The second match was exceptionally dramatic, with the last set ending 33-31. Reaching 34 kills that weekend, Akasha Anderson led the team offensively. Madison Scheer also contributed greatly with 24 kills of her own. Meanwhile, Kendal Kemp had an impressive 12 total blocks, and Jackie Barrett kept the Aggies at bay with 23 digs.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
The Aggies got back in the winner's circle after a victory over Alabama on Friday. The team is 15-7 overall and ranks first in the SEC in blocks per set, as well as fourth nationally. They also rank first in the conference in total blocks. Texas A&M has registered wins in six of the nine SEC matches they have played, with clean sweeps over Mississippi State and South Carolina.
Ifenna Cos-Okpalla is the Aggies' star middle blocker, a 6-2 sophomore who leads the nation in blocks per set (1.77). With an impressive 129 total blocks this season, Cos-Okpalla has proven to be the SEC's largest roadblock. She has been named SEC's Defensive Player of the Week twice in 2023 alone.
Fellow middle blocker Morgan Perkins has contributed 81 of the team's total blocks. She averages 1.08 blocks per set herself, adding to an already stacked defense. Holding opponents to just .176 hitting, Texas A&M is also first in the conference in opponent hitting percentage.
Sophomore outside hitter Logan Lednicky averages 3.40 kills per set (10th in conference). Adding to a productive offense, outside hitters Caroline Meuth and Bianna Muoneke register an average of 3.05 and 2.89 kills per set, respectively.
Sophomore setter Margot Manning is the team's leader in aces. With .44 aces per set, she is fourth in the conference, amassing 32 total aces and 318 assists this season.
AUBURN-TEXAS A&M SERIES
Entering this weekend, Auburn has a 4-14 record against Texas A&M. However, the last time the Tigers were in College Station, Auburn earned a win over the Aggies for the first time since 2013 and have won three straight over Texas A&M thanks to two dramatic victories last season.
No. 24 Auburn Volleyball travels to College Station to face Texas A&M
