NORMAN, Okla. – Both Madison Scheer and Bella Bella dialed up double-digit kill performances on Sunday evening inside McCasland Field House. Oklahoma’s offense was too much to handle, though, as Auburn fell in four sets, 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 25-19).
The Tigers (14-12, 4-11) battled tough at the beginning of the first set. Neither side owned a lead larger than one through the first 18 points of the set.
Bell and Scheer each put down a pair of kills while Zoe Slaughter, Paige Thibault and Chelsey McCurdy all grabbed two digs as well. However, a 6-0 run from the Sooners put the home team in control and gave them an early one-set lead.
Scheer started to find a better rhythm in set No. 2. The Eureka, Missouri native powered down three kills on her nine swings. She would finish with a match-high 12.
Once again, the Tigers were within striking distance through the midpoint of the second set. Still, Oklahoma was able to press the right buttons to find multiple scoring runs and take a quick, 2-0 lead.
Head coach Brent Crouch opted to switch to a 6-2 to kick off the third set and it paid dividends.
Almost immediately, both sides of the ball saw a spark, especially on defense. While Bell and McCurdy were the only Tigers to record a block, touches at the net allowed Slaughter to run down seven important digs.
Auburn’s left sides in Scheer and Lauren Dreves found the most success. Dreves led the way with four kills while Scheer found another three.
It was the Orange and Blue serving that really put the Sooners in a bind. Two of Peyton Dunn’s three aces came in the third set and Scheer’s stout effort also led to a deep scoring run.
When the dust settled, it all added up to a dominant set win and forced the match into a fourth set.
With newfound success, Dunn along with fellow setter Kalei Edson produced Auburn’s best offensive output in the fourth set. Scheer and Bell each tallied five kills and Bel Zimmerman added four from the right side as well.
In total, the Tigers hit a blistering .312 but Oklahoma was finding similar success from their outsides, leading to a hitting percentage north of .500 and allowing the Sooners to close out the match.
MATCH NOTES
- Madison Scheer (12 kills) reached double digits for the 22nd time this season
- Bella Bell (11 kills) reached double digits for the 12th time in 2024
- Peyton Dunn’s three aces were a career-best
- Zoe Slaughter’s 13 digs were a season-high
WHAT CROUCH HAD TO SAY
Opening statement…
“Oklahoma is a big, physical team that created a bunch of problems for us tonight. They did a nice job feeding their pins and just generally making life difficult. When we switched to a 6-2, I thought it provided a nice spark for us, especially on the defensive side of the ball during that third set. We didn’t rack up a tone of blocks but the touches at the net allowed us to get into our transition offense. The fourth set was just a slugfest. Lauren (Dreves), Maddie (Scheer) and Bella (Bell) did a nice job but we just weren’t able to slow them down enough.”