AUBURN, Ala. – Like a well-oiled machine, Auburn (5-0, 0-0) cruised past Cal Poly (2-2, 0-0) in straight sets, 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-21), behind .323 hitting and seven aces to remain undefeated in the early parts of the 2024 campaign.
It didn’t take long for the Tigers to assert themselves at the service line Thursday evening. Chelsey McCurdy and Kalei Edson each powered an ace in the opening set but the likes of Lauren Dreves and Fallan Lanham also contributed to the cause to force the Mustangs out of system.
Midway through the first set, the Orange and Blue defense had Cal Poly hitting negative.
Meanwhile, Bel Zimmerman was just beginning her torrid evening. The junior from Liberty, Missouri was perfect, literally. Four kills on four swings sparked a special night for the outside hitter.
As Auburn took the lead, 1-0, its serving got even stronger. Three more aces in the second set brought the team’s tally to five. By night’s end, the total would grow to seven, the most in a three-set match since recording nine last September against Mercer.
The Tigers couldn’t have been more balanced throughout the set. Madison Scheer paced the offense with five kills on her 10 swings. Dreves, Edson and McCurdy each added aces. McCurdy and Scheer also combined for three timely blocks.
When all added up, Auburn owned a decisive two-set advantage.
Set No. 3 belonged to the Tigers’ Missouri double threat. Zimmerman and Scheer each tallied five kills and both hit north of .300.
Zimmerman finished the evening with 11 kills on .579 hitting and one block. She’s now hit over .333 in each of the last four matches.
Scheer equaled Zimmerman’s 11 kills on an even .400 hitting.
Inspired by their perfection, even Brent Crouch went a perfect 4-4 on challenges throughout the match.
Defensively, Auburn conjured seven total team blocks led by both Scheer and McCurdy. Freshman Emma Moore secured three.
Even though Cal Poly made a small run towards the end of the third and final set, it was Zimmerman and Moore’s rejection that drove the final nail in the coffin to give the Tigers its fifth win of the season.
Match Notes
- Auburn has now started 5-0 in each of the past four seasons
- The Tigers improve to 20-0 under Crouch when hitting .300 or better
- Brent Crouch is now 40-0 all-time when his teams hit north of .300
- Auburn’s seven aces were the most in a single match this season and the most in a three-set match since putting down nine in a sweep over Mercer in September of last season
- Auburn’s .323 hitting percentage marks the second time this season the Tigers have eclipsed the .300 mark
- Madison Scheer (11 kills) reached double digits and hit over .300 for the third time this season
- Bel Zimmerman (11 kills) hit double digits for the third time in 2024 and hit over .300 for the fourth time
- Chelsey McCurdy set a new career best with four aces
- Alexis Dacosta (11 digs) has reached double-digit dig totals in each of the four matches she’s played in
What Crouch had to say
Opening statement…
“They’re [Cal Poly] a good team. They were picked to be the Big West Champs and their outsides really got going late in the match. But they never got over 21 points, so I thought it was a great win for us.”
On the play of the outside hitters…
“I’m just such a fan of having this many hitters out there. There are some weaknesses with a 6-2. I just think with our group, it just makes a lot of sense. We have people that can hit high balls on both sides and they can also hit fast balls on both sides. It’s just so hard for people to deal with.”