AUBURN, Ala. – It’s another quick turnaround for head coach Brent Crouch and the Auburn Tigers(13-1, 3-0) as the Orange and Blue play host to Texas A&M (10-2, 1-1) on Sunday inside Neville Arena.
First serve is set for 2 p.m. CT and admission is free. For those unable to make it to Auburn on Sunday, the match will be streamed live on SEC Network Plus. Lyn Rollins and Paige Wetzel will have the call.
QUICK HITS
Auburn's win over Georgia marked the Tigers' fifth straight against the Bulldogs. Under head coach Brent Crouch, Auburn is now a 13-1 versus rivals Alabama and Georgia.
Behind Alexis Dacosta's 20 digs on Friday evening, the Tigers are now averaging 17.78 digs per set. The mark ranks No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference and No. 6 in the nation.
Dacosta has now reached 20 digs in two separate matches this season and has eclipsed at least 10 digs on 10 different occasions.
Auburn's front row has been equally as impressive to open SEC play. At 2.97 blocks per set, the Tigers rank first in the conference and No. 8 in all of Division I Volleyball.
The Orange and Blue block, coupled with electric back row defense has produced an opponent hitting percentage of .155, the best average in the SEC.
Speaking of defense, Auburn held Georgia to a mere .190 hitting percentage on Friday. The Tigers are now 11-0 in 2024 when holding opponents south of .200. Over the past two seasons, Auburn is 25-2 accomplishing the same feat.
Redshirt-Junior setter Peyton Dunn continues to do a bit of everything when she's on the court. Dunn scooped up 12 digs along with 23 assists to notch her fifth double-double of the season during the Tigers' win over the Bulldogs on Friday.
A step up in aggressive serving paid dividends for Auburn in its latest rivalry victory. Lauren Dreves delivered a career-high three aces when it mattered most to steal the fourth set and match. Four of the Orange and Blue's six aces came in the fourth frame.
The Tigers' 3-0 start to SEC play matches its best opening to conference play since 2022 (also 3-0).
With six digs on Friday evening, senior libero Paige Thibault reached 500 for her career.
LAST TIME OUT
Bella Bell swung for 13 kills on a season-best .444 hitting to lead a highly efficient right side attack that paved the way to Auburn's fifth straight victory over Georgia. Peyton Dunn added her fifth double-double of the season while Alexis Dacosta ran down 20 digs to keep the Bulldogs' offense at arm's length.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
Jamie Morrison enters her second season at the helm of the Texas A&M program. In his first year at the wheel, Morrison's Aggies compiled a 16-13 record with an 8-10 mark in the SEC, earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
This season, Texas A&M boasts a 10-2 record with its only losses coming to two top-10 teams in Wisconsin and Texas.
While the Aggies don't set the pace in the SEC in any statistical category, Texas A&M still ranks top 20 in the country in assists per set (13.39), hitting percentage (.275) and kills per set (14.16).
Leading the offensive charge, outside hitter Logan Lednicky is averaging a monstrous 4.16 kills per set along with a solid 1.09 blocks per set.
Middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla has been lethal on both sides of the ball. The junior from Flower Mound, Texas sits atop the SEC in blocks per set (1.50) and is third on her team in kills per set at 2.20. Co-Okpalla is also hitting a robust .406 entering Sunday's match.
AUBURN-TEXAS A&M SERIES
Relative newcomer to the SEC, Texas A&M and Auburn have only squared off 19 times. The Aggies own a 14-5 record over the Tigers. However, Brent Crouch has turned the Tide in the matchup, entering Sunday with a 4-1 record against his alma mater since his arrival on the Plains. Auburn has won four straight matches, including two five-set affairs over the past three seasons.