COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Head coach Brent Crouch and the No. 24 Auburn Tigers (18-5, 8-4) passed another stern test on Sunday, climbing back from a set deficit to win its fifth five-setter of the year over Texas A&M, 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 15-12).
The Tigers made sure to bring its offense on the Road. Auburn hit .379 in the opening frame as Jacke Barrett distributed four kills to Akasha Anderson, three to Kendal Kemp and two apiece to Madison Scheer and Bella Bell.
Strong passing from Sarah Morton, Zoe Slaughter and Paige Thibault put the Tigers' best foot forward as the Orange and Blue owned a side-out percentage of well over 60 percent.
Auburn just couldn't create any separation, as its usual scoring runs would have to wait. Texas A&M (15-8, 7-6) found the right buttons to push late as the home side took the early lead.
Crouch's crew continued to serve tough in the second set and eventually, the points did come. With Slaughter at the line, the Honolulu native produced a 4-0 run that finally gave Auburn a bit of a lead.
Meanwhile, Kemp and Anderson were going to work offensively. Kemp added four kills to her total as the offense hit a massive .464 in the second frame, allowing Auburn to tie up the match at a set apiece.
When passes were put in play, the Orange and Blue offense had no trouble going to work in the third. Kemp, Anderson and Scheer did their thing. Bella Bell even joined in the fray with a pair of kills of her own.
Bell finished her afternoon with 11 kills on a monstrous .429 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, Kemp had nine kills at an even .500 pace.
The Auburn block also proved to be fierce in the frame. By the time the fourth set came round, the Tigers had piled up nine total team blocks. The Tigers finished with 12, grabbing double digits for the 11th time this season.
A 6-0 run at the end of the frame from the Aggies, though, came at a bad time. A quick 3-0 rally with Thibault at the line was not enough as Texas A&M took the lead for the second time Sunday afternoon.
By the midway point in the fourth set, Anderson, Scheer and Bell all tallied at least 10 kills. Defensively, it was Slaughter's team-leading 10 digs that set the pace while Kemp rejected seven Texas A&M attacks.
When all totaled, .343 hitting powered Auburn to another set win and forced a pivotal fifth set in hostile territory.
All season long, Crouch's team has seemed to make the big plays when it counted most. A giant dig from Anderson here, a block from Swanson and Bell there and Auburn's confidence never wavered in the final stanza.
Another .300 effort in the final frame, combined with momentum-swinging blocks and Auburn capped off another impressive road trip against a venerable Texas A&M.
MATCH NOTES
- Sunday marked the 11th time the Tigers collected at least 10 blocks in a match this season
- Auburn is now 5-1 in five-set matches in 2023
- Brent Crouch is now 14-10 in five-set matches at Auburn and 41-32 in his career
- Under Crouch, the Tigers are now 17-0 when hitting .300 for a match
- Madison Scheer (16 kills) reached double digits for the 17th match this season
- Sarah Morton led the team with 15 digs, marking the 11th time she's reached double digits this year
- Akasha Anderson (16 kills) reached double digits for the 18th time this season
- Bella Bell (11 kills) reached double digits for the seventh time this year
- Zoe Slaughter (11 digs) reached double digits for the seventh time this season
- Paige Thibault (11 digs) reached double digits for the seventh time this year
CROUCH'S COMMENTS
"Really tough opponent and a really good win. Lednicky was crushing us in the first part of the match and I'm glad we were able to figure out ways to slow her down a little as the match wore on. I'm just so proud of the team. They keep working really hard and it's paying off. We had another lineup change, bringing Sarah [Morton] back in. Everyone handled it well because it moved several people around. Very proud of the way they hung together. This team just doesn't like to lose."
UP NEXT
Auburn returns to Neville Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. CT for a matchup with Kentucky.