AUBURN, Ala. – The Neville Arena block party lived up to its name on Friday as Auburn (6-1, 0-0) made quick work of Florida State (3-3, 0-0) on Friday evening, utilizing 17 blocks to sweep the Seminoles, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-20).
It didn’t take long for the Orange and Blue to give the 1,456 fans something to make some noise about. Kate Mansfield had already set a career-high with nine blocks against Troy a week ago. The Cal transfer began her night with three rejections in the first set.
Liz Markovska wasn’t going to be outdone, though. The Menifee, California product equaled Mansfield’s three blocks in the opening frame and added six kills on her nine swings with an incredible .556 hitting percentage.
Bel Zimmerman would add four kills of her own as Shanelle Puetz and Kalei Edson led an offense that hit .237, compared to FSU’s .143, giving Auburn the early lead.
Puetz ended her night with 21 assists and 13 digs for her second double-double of the season.
The second set was much tighter, featuring nine ties throughout the stanza.
Once again, Puetz and Edson leaned on Markovska, who conjured five more kills in the frame. She would finish with a game-high 17, tying her season high.
With the set tied at 23, Auburn needed one last push to get over the edge. In stepped Kate Mansfield.
A perfect pass set up Manfield for a quick kill. On the very next point, Mansfield and Eden Bower combined for a crowd-roaring block to give the Tigers a two-sets-to-none advantage.
Florida State wasn’t going to go down without a fight, though. Throughout much of the third set, the Seminoles played from in front.
It was the service pressure from Grace Havlicek, Lauren Dreves and Markovska that produced scoring runs to pull Auburn back in front.
Havlicek sparked a 5-0 run, Dreves manufactured the same and Markovska sparked a 4-0 scoring barrage that put the cherry on top.
No one had a better night than the Auburn block. Nine additional team blocks in the third set brought the Tigers’ total to 17. It was the most blocks since recording 15 last season at Arkansas and the most in a three-set match under head coach Brent Crouch.
The momentum-changing rejections were all Auburn needed to close out its most impressive home victory this season and the second win against an ACC opponent in as many matches.
WHAT CROUCH HAD TO SAY
Head coach, Brent Crouch
“We have made small improvements every match, and tonight was another great example of that. We’ve had very little practice time over the past couple of weeks, so I’ve had to ask them to learn things in matches. Once again, our block was dynamic and I think you can see how much momentum we get from the crowd noise when we get one. I’ve always said they are worth more than one point. We made a couple of changes in-match, defensively, for some things that were causing us problems but overall, I’m just really impressed by how this team continues to step up for each opponent. Florida State is a very good team. They will cause teams in the ACC a lot of problems. I’m glad we get to play them again on Sunday. I think it will be another great test.”
On his 75th win at Auburn…
“These kinds of milestones are more of a reflection on what the team has done throughout my time here. I’ve been very fortunate to be along for the ride for some good years. I hope that number continues to rise, and if it does, it’s because of the work these women put in each and every day.”
MATCH NOTES
-Auburn’s 17 blocks marked the fourth-straight match the Tigers have reached double digits. It was also the most blocks since recording 15 last season at Arkansas and the most in a three-set match in the Brent Crouch era.
- Auburn held Florida State to .103 hitting, marking the sixth time in seven matches the Tigers have held their opponent below .200
- Head coach Brent Crouch earned his 75th win as a Tiger.
- Eden Bower (5 blocks) has recorded at least four blocks in three straight matches
- Kate Mansfield (10 blocks) set a career high and has recorded at least four blocks in six of the seven matches this season
- Bel Zimmerman (9 kills) matched her season best
- Alexis Dacosta (15 digs) reached double digits in digs for the sixth time in seven matches