AUBURN, Ala. – One last regular season match remains for the Auburn Tigers. Head coach Brent Crouch and his crew head west to Columbia for a bout with Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 30 inside the historic Hearnes Center.
First serve is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT and the match will be streamed live on the SEC Network Plus.
QUICK HITS
Junior outside hitter Madison Scheer is the model of consistency for Crouch and Co. this season. The Eureka, Missouri product has hit double digits in kills in 22 of the 26 matches in 2024. Three times this year, Scheer has collected 18 kills.
Scheer has also quickly become Auburn's most lethal server in recent weeks. Over the last nine matches, the prolific outside hitter is averaging a team-high 0.26 aces per set, including a career-high three aces against Florida.
Crouch's defense continues to flex its muscles as the season has progressed. With one last match on the schedule, the Tigers rank fifth in the SEC in opponent hitting percentage, holding teams to just a .203 average.
Much of the Orange and Blue defensive effort has come from the Tigers' ability to block at the net. Entering Saturday's matchup, Auburn is averaging 2.58, the second most in the Southeastern Conference. If the season ended today, that number would go down as the highest mark in program history during the rally-scoring era.
Freshman Emma Moore has been right in the middle of the Tigers' blocking effort. The Mobile, Alabama native ranks fifth in the SEC at an impressive 1.18 per set. Graduate Chelsey McCurdy isn't far behind at No. 8 and 1.16 per set.
Speaking of defense, Auburn's back row has been equally impressive throughout the 2024 campaign. At 15.80 digs per set, the Tigers are also second in the SEC, behind only the Arkansas Razorbacks. If the season ended today, that number would go down as the fifth-highest average in program history during the rally-scoring era.
Columbia, Missouri has become Auburn West in recent years. Scheer, along with junior right side Bel Zimmerman and defensive specialist Sydney Handel all call the Show Me State home.
LAST TIME OUT
Madison Scheer secured yet another double-digit kill performance in Norman last Sunday. Red-shirt junior setter Peyton Dunn added a career-best three aces as well. In fact, Auburn out-aced the Sooners 7-1 during the match but it wasn't quite enough to overcome Oklahoma's offense as the Tigers fell in four sets on the road.
SCOUTING MISSOURI
Head coach Dawn Sullivan has her group of Tigers in fourth place in the Southeastern Conference with one match remaining in the regular season. Missouri boasts an impressive 19-8 record with a 10-5 mark in SEC play. Sullivan and Co. also own excellent wins over NC State, Oklahoma and Texas.
At the center of Missouri's success are outside hitters Mychael Vernon and Jordan Illif. Combined, the dynamic duo are averaging almost 8.0 kills per set and well over 9.0 points per set.
Illif, the senior from St. Louis, Missouri has tallied 61 aces throughout the season before Saturday's matchup. The mark is the most in the SEC and the ninth-most in all of Division I Volleyball.
With options on either side, setter Marina Crownover is directing one of the best offenses in the country. At 13.65 assists per set, Missouri ranks second in the country. The Tigers are also sixth in the nation in kills per set (14.48) and 13th in hitting percentage (.287).
Libero Maya Sands is also arguably the best defensive player in the conference. Sands owns the second-most digs (467) in the SEC and the most digs per set (4.67).
AUBURN-MISSOURI SERIES
As a relative newcomer to the SEC, Missouri and Auburn have only squared off 19 times in the history of the two programs. Entering Saturday's matchup, Missouri owns a 16-3 record over the Orange and Blue. However, three of the last five matchups have gone the full five sets, including Auburn's first victory in Columbia back in 2022.