TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Graduate Bella Bell delivered a career-best 22 kills and hit .465 from the right side but it wasn’t enough for Auburn (14-3, 4-2) to outlast Alabama (10-7, 2-4) in five sets, 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 22-25, 26-24, 16-14).
Bell and Lauren Dreves found the most success offensively for the Tigers in the set No. 1. Bell led the Tigers with a team-high four kills on her 10 swings.
Most of the opening frame was played tight. Neither team owned a lead larger than three points. Even when Auburn was down, 22-20, Bella Humphrey delivered a trio of tough serves, including an ace, to pull the Tigers even at 22.
However, a couple of miscues handed the set to the home side.
The Orange and Blue kicked off the second set in a much better fashion. A 5-0 run kickstarted an offensive explosion. Chelsey McCurdy, Peyton Dunn, Fallan Lanham and the rest of the Auburn servers made life difficult for the Crimson Tide.
Bell continued to find success, finishing the second set with a team-high seven kills. As the serving got stronger, so did the Tigers’ defense, dialing up two big blocks early.
Dunn, along with fellow setter Kalei Edson directed an offense that hit .333 while the defense held Alabama to just .029. It all added up to a dominant set win, 25-15. Dunn managed her team-leading sixth double-double of the year with 32 assists and 12 digs
Serving was the name of the game again set four. Humphrey, Dreves and McCurdy all enjoyed scoring runs. McCurdy even started to find success in the middle, grabbing two quick kills.
It was Bella Bella, though, that really put the stamp on the set. When things got tight, Auburn’s No. 5 was swinging hard and hitting lines. The Blythewood, South Carolina native had stacked up 11 kills on over .400 hitting.
Meanwhile, Alexis Dacosta was holding things down defensively. Her 24 digs set a new career high for the junior from Katy, Texas.
At 22-20, stellar passing set up Dreves and Bell to secure the final three kills and give Auburn the lead at two sets to one.
The Tigers had their chances in the fourth set. Even though the offense dipped to .262, Bell continued to put away kills. By the end of the night, she would finish with a career-best 22 kills on an incredible .465 hitting percentage.
Auburn had a match point but two straight aces from Alabama sent the match into a decisive fifth set.
Once more, the Orange and Blue had to climb out of a deep hole in the final frame. Down, 13-8, and with McCurdy at the line, the Tigers put together a 5-0 run to knot it all up at 13. In the end, the Crimson Tide found the final kills to take the match, 3-2.
MATCH NOTES
- Madison Scheer (16 kills) reached double digits for the 10th straight match
- Lauren Dreves (16 digs) reached double digits for the 13th time this season
- Fallan Lanham’s two aces were a season-best
- Bella Bell set a career high in kills (22)
- Peyton Dunn collected her sixth double-double of the season (32 assists, 12 digs)
- Alexis Dacosta set a new career best in digs (24)