AUBURN, Ala. – Fueled by prolific performances from Bel Zimmerman and Alabama native Emma Moore, Auburn (2-0, 0-0) capped off a perfect weekend, taking down a scrappy Wofford (1-2, 0-0) squad, 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 25-17) to remain perfect on the season.
Auburn’s power, matched with Wofford’s speed and agility provided a back-and-forth battle from first serve.
Madison Scheer paced the Tigers early with six kills and Chelsey McCurdy wasn’t far behind with four of her own. Still, neither team was able to separate themselves.
Much like Friday’s matches, Auburn was able to create some distance at the service line. The Orange and Blue’s stud freshman Lauren Dreves kickstarted a 3-0 run late to give her team some breathing room.
Scheer’s sixth kill ultimately put the nail in the coffin in the opening frame.
The Terriers weren’t going to head back to Spartanburg without a fight, though. Despite eight bone-crunching kills from Bel Zimmerman, Wofford led by as many as seven midway through the second set.
However, a change in mindset and a change in serving targets began to turn the momentum the way of the Tigers. Behind Zimmerman’s push and four more kills from Scheer, Auburn climbed all the way back to tie the set at 23 apiece.
Zimmerman finished the day with 16 kills with an insane .406 hitting percentage.
Even though Wofford closed out the second, Brent Crouch’s Tigers sensed they had found the upper hand.
Stellar passing and aggressive serving paved the way in the third set, allowing Kalei Edson and Peyton Dunn to orchestrate one of the best offensive sets of the young season. Bella Bell put down five kills as did Scheer. As a team, Auburn hit .429 in the third, easily taking the two sets to one advantage.
Lead in hand, the Tigers were not going to let up any further. Both Fallan Lanham and Kalei Edson sparked deep scoring runs for the Orange and Blue. Fallan, the Louisville, Kentucky product also recorded the 500th dig in career.
When crouch needed someone to put their foot down in the fourth set, in stepped Mobile native Emma Moore. Her three kills were both powerful and timely. Moore would finish the day with seven kills on a remarkable .583 hitting.
When all totaled, the effort from Moore and Co. led to a 25-17 set win and a 3-0 start to the 2024 campaign.
Game Notes
- Crouch improves to 12-0 in the month of August
- Fallan Lanham collected her 500th career dig
- The Tigers reached double digits in blocks (10) for the first time this season
- Auburn is now 17-2 over the past two seasons when holding its opponents under a .200 hitting percentage
- The Tigers are also 18-3 over the last two seasons when hitting .200 or higher
- Madison Scheer piled up a season-high 16 kills and hit over .300 for the first time this season
- Bel Zimmerman stacked up a season-high 16 kills and hit over .400
- Bella Bell (13 kills) reached double digits for the second time this season
- Auburn’s 81 digs were the most since collecting 82 against Arkansas last season
What Crouch had to say…
Opening statement...
“We’re pretty talented, that’s what I learned. We’re running a 6-2, which obviously gives us three hitters in the front row and we have fantastic pin hitters. I don’t know what Bel Zimmerman’s final numbers were but she might have been over .300 or even .400 for the weekend. Bella Bell is Bella Bell, she’s fantastic. And Maddie [Scheer] and Lauren [Dreves] did well in the other spots.
"We’re a much better digging and passing team than we have been in the past. It’s real fun to watch. We’re holding teams to a low hitting efficiency and our kills are up.”
On the mix of veterans and newcomers…
“Our team has had a special culture for a couple of years now. Our older players are doing a nice job leading but they also do a really good job of connecting. On the other side, the freshmen are not scared. They were of course nervous yesterday morning but that’s normal. We started three of them in each match. Kalei [Edson] did an excellent job setting, Emma Moore had a fantastic match today and Lauren [Dreves] was a serving target for three straight days and stepped up to the challenge. It’s a neat mix.”