LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Stout serving and a free-flowing offense paved the way for head coach Brent Crouch and the Auburn Tigers to grab their second victory of the season, brushing past St. John’s, 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-21).
Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Dreves picked up right where she left off yesterday. Dreves powered the Tiger offense in the first set with six kills on .462 hitting. Liz Markovska added four kills of her own.
Service errors and aces put the Orange and Blue in a bind in the opening frame. Even though the offense hit .308 compared to St. John’s .257, Four errors from the service line and four Red Storm aces were too much a hole to climb out of, allowing St. John’s to take the early lead, 1-0.
Set No. 2 proved to be much more profitable for the Orange and Blue. Dreves and Markovska continued to swing hard on the outside and the defense started to pick up its tempo as well.
By the end of the set, Alexis Dacosta led the way with nine digs, with Shanelle Puetz right behind at seven.
It was Auburn’s serving that allowed the Orange & Blue to take over the frame. Puetz delivered two aces, Markovska added one and the overall pressure made it impossible for the Red Storm to mount a comeback, evening the match at one set apiece.
There was no secret to how the Tigers forced their way into leads for the rest of the match. Even if it wasn’t an ace, the service pressure led to better defense, which in turn led to easier offense.
Auburn would finish with a season-best eight aces, led by Puetz, who carded four. Meanwhile, Markovska and Kalei Edson each added two apiece.
Dreves’ dream weekend finished with a 16-kill performance with zero errors for a an even .444 hitting percentage. Markovska tabbed a game-high 17 kills on .351 with eight digs.
As a team, the Tigers hit .333 and held St. John’s to just .20, helping the Orange and Blue to a 2-1 start to the season.
WHAT CROUCH HAD TO SAY
Head coach, Brent Crouch
“As a coach, I’m always looking at what we could’ve done better every time we play. The reality is, it was a terrific weekend for us and I think we showed the potential of what this team is capable of moving forward. Our offense is starting to click in all the right spots. The back row attack today was especially good. That’s three matches in three days and I couldn’t be more proud of how this team responded throughout the entire weekend.”
MATCH NOTES
- Auburn tallied a season-high eight aces.
- The Tigers hit .333 for the match, marking the second-straight match with a hitting percentage north of .300.
- Liz Markovska finished with a season-high 17 kills.
- Lauren Dreves (16 kills) has reached double digits in all three matches this season and hit above .400 for the second straight match.
- Grace Havlicek’s six blocks were a season-high.
- Alexis Dacosta (16 digs) reached double digits for the third straight match.
- Shanelle Puetz’s 29 assists were a season-best.