AUBURN, Ala. – The 2024 volleyball season has officially arrived as Auburn hosts North Alabama, Georgia Southern and Wofford in the War Eagle Invitational (Aug. 30-31) inside Neville Arena.
Action begins on Friday, Aug. 30 bright and early when the Tigers go toe-to-toe with UNA at 10 a.m. CT. Doors open one hour before first serve and admission is free.
Fans unable to make their way to the Plains this weekend can watch Friday’s matches live on SEC Network Plus. JJ Jackson and Paige Wetzel will have the call.
QUICK HITS
Auburn opens the season at home for the second straight year. Head coach Brent Crouch has won each of his last three season-openers. Auburn hasn't dropped a non-conference opener since falling to Tennessee State in 2019.
Six new faces look to make their Orange and Blue debut over the weekend. Five freshmen (Lauren Dreves, Kalei Edson, Emma Moore, Grace Havlicek and Bella Humphrey) along with transfer Alexis Dacosta are all eyeing to make an impact in 2024.
All five freshmen picked up All-American honors during their high school careers. Dreves is the reigning Washington Gatorade Player of the Year and Moore is a two-time Alabama State Champion from McGill-Toolen High School.
The Tigers opened the preseason AVCA Coaches Poll receiving 54 votes. Last season, Auburn jumped into the rankings for the first time in program history and climbed as high as No. 22 during a stretch that saw the Orange and Blue amongst the top 25 for 10 consecutive weeks.
Auburn is now 29-19 at home under head coach Brent Crouch. All-time Auburn is 78-64 in Neville Arena.
Junior outside hitter Madison Scheer returns after a breakout sophomore season. Finishing with career highs in kills, kills per set, digs per set, blocks per set and points per set, the Eureka, Missouri native earned AVCA All-South Region honors. Scheer was also named AVCA National Player of the Week after the Tigers swept then-No. 9 Florida and took down South Carolina. It was just the second such award in program history (Rani Whitson 1996). Scheer was also named to the 2024 preseason All-SEC Team.
Auburn was tabbed to finish 10th in the SEC preseason coaches poll. Head coach Brent Crouch has outperformed preseason expectations in each of the last three seasons on the Plains.
A hitting percentage of .200 or better was the magic number for the Tigers in 2023. Auburn was 16-3 last season when its offense managed .200 or better. Defensively, when holding opponents to .200 or worse, the Tigers were 14-2.
SCOUTING NORTH ALABAMA
Last season was a landmark year for North Alabama in its Division I era. The Lions finished with the most wins (17) and the most conference wins (9) since moving to the Division I ranks. UNA was picked to finish fourth in the ASUN, its highest preseason coaches poll ranking in program history.
Now in his third season at the helm of the UNA program, Tristan Johnson returns a squad that finished third in the ASUN in aces per set (1.74) and fourth in hitting percentage (.236).
Johnson welcomes back seniors Katy Floyd and Brenna Tietz. Floyd was second on the squad last season in kills per set (2.40) and third in aces per set (0.31). Tietz averaged 1.90 kills per set and collected 0.60 blocks per set.
SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Head coach Chad Willis begins his sixth season in charge of the Georgia Southern Eagles. In 2023, he led GSU to a 23-win season, the most since 2013, and a trip to the NIVC Great Eight. GSU was tabbed to finish third in the East region of the Sun Belt, only behind James Madison and Coastal Carolina.
Senior Ashlyn Lovett commands the Eagles' back row defense. The libero is fourth all-time in digs (1,403) and second in digs per set (4.36).
Outside hitter Reagan Barth looks to continue her momentum from her freshman campaign. She finished 2023 with First Team All-Sun Belt honors after leading the team in kills, kills per set, aces and hitting percentage. She tallied seven double-doubles and four 20-kill performances.
As a team, the Eagles led the Sun Belt in hitting percentage (.242) and total blocks (322), while finishing second in blocks per set (2.78).
SCOUTING WOFFORD
Lynze Roos and the Wofford Terriers orchestrated one of the best seasons in program history last fall. A 23-8 overall record with a SoCon mark of 11-5 earned the program its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
Roos returns seniors Sarah MacLean and Mary Emily Morgan. MacLean, a right side out of Simpsonville, S.C. was third on the squad in attacking percentage last season (.306) and fourth in kills per set (2.14). Morgan, on the other hand, was second in digs per set (2.88) and fourth in aces with 19.
As a team, the Terriers led the SoCon with 2.57 blocks per set, a .164 opponent hitting percentage and 295.5 total blocks. However, Wofford lost four starters and eight letterwinners from the 2023 campaign.
LAST TIME OUT VS NORTH ALABAMA
Auburn swept North Alabama, 3-0, in 2021 to keep its sweep streak alive. Crouch and Co. opened the campaign with five consecutive sweeps that year. Val Green led the way with 12 kills on .375 hitting. Meanwhile, Bella Rosenthall tracked down 25 digs as the Tigers held the Lions to a hitting percentage of just .063.
LAST TIME OUT VS GEORGIA SOUTHERN
It's been over a decade since Auburn has faced Georgia Southern on the volleyball court. In 2012, the Tigers took down the Eagles, 3-1, thanks to the offensive powerhouse that was Camila Jersonsky (12 kills). Three others registered nine kills in the match. The Orange and Blue were just as stout defensively as Sarah Bullock led the way with 16 digs, Sarah Wroblicky tallied 14 and both Ciara Richards and Chelsea Wintzinger each secured 11.
LAST TIME OUT VS WOFFORD
Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between Auburn and Wofford.
AUBURN-NORTH ALABAMA SERIES
Auburn holds a 7-4-1 record over the Lions in a matchup that dates back to 1974. However, the two programs have only met once in the rally-scoring era when the Tigers swept UNA at home in 2021. North Alabama's last victory came in a 2-1 match in 1977.
AUBURN-GEORGIA SOUTHERN SERIES
The Tigers and Eagles first went toe-to-toe in 1995, a match Auburn handled easily, sweeping GSU in straight sets. It's been over a decade, though, since the two programs have locked horns. The Orange and Blue won a pair of matches in at home in 2010 and 2012 but haven't faced each other since. Auburn owns a 5-1 all-time mark over Georgia Southern with the Eagles' only victory coming in a five-setter back in 2005.