AUBURN, Ala. – Double-digit kills from Lauren Dreves and Liz Markovska fueled Auburn (10-2, 1-0) to a straight set sweep, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-19) over rival Alabama (8-3, 0-1).
Dreves, the sophomore from Vancouver, Washington was determined to start the match on the right foot, hammering home eight kills on her 18 swings with zero errors.
The Orange and Blue block, led by Kate Mansfield, came to play as well. Her three rejections led the Tigers in the opening set, while Bel Zimmerman and Markovska added two apiece.
Zimmerman’s first block, Auburn’s first point of the match, signaled the 200th of her career.
As a team, Auburn held the Crimson Tide to just .026 hitting to get out in front early, 1-0.
Distribution proved much more even in the second frame as Dreves, Zimmerman and Markovska all tallied three kills in the set.
However, defense continued to be the name of the game for head coach Brent Crouch and the Tigers as his crew piled up five of the 11.0 total blocks in the second set.
Zimmerman and Grace Havlicek racked up three apiece. It was the third-straight match Zimmerman recorded at least five blocks.
Holding the Crimson Tide under .100 (0.057) for the second straight set, Auburn seemed in total control.
The visitors weren’t going to go down without a fight, though. Alabama began the third with a quick 3-1 burst before Crouch’s crew began to chip away.
At 10-10, in stepped Liz Markovska.
Combined with solid passing from the back row, Markovska feasted on perfect sets from Shanelle Puetz and Kalei Edson.
Puetz finished the evening with 13 assists and 10 digs for her third double-double of the season.
Seven kills on 12 swings with zero errors gave Markovska an incredible .583 hitting percentage in set three alone. Coupled with aces from Edson and Zoe Slaughter pushed Auburn over the edge, finalizing a sweep over its in-state rival to begin SEC play.
WHAT CROUCH HAD TO SAY
Head coach, Brent Crouch
“First of all, what a great crowd. Over 3,000 people, the second-largest crowd in program history. I cannot thank the Auburn Family enough. It means so much to this team and to me to see the genuine support of this community. It for sure made a difference tonight.
“Secondly, the team put on a good show for them tonight. We can certainly get better in a lot of areas, and we will, but the team deserves a ton of credit for their performance tonight. When we play our brand of volleyball, passing well, ramping up the tempo and playing defense, we’re going to be really tough against any opponent. You saw that tonight with multiple scoring runs and we built ourselves some bigger leads in sets. If we continue to emphasize those moments, I like where this team is headed.”
MATCH NOTES
- Auburn recorded 11.0 total blocks, marking the third-straight match the Tigers have reached double digits and the eighth time this season
- Auburn held Alabama to .103 hitting, marking the fourth straight match the Tigers have kept their opponent below .200 and the 10th time this season
- Head coach Brent Crouch is now 8-1 all-time against Alabama
- Lauren Dreves (14 kills) reached double digits for the fifth straight match and the 11th time this season
- Kate Mansfield (5 blocks) has recorded at least four blocks in four straight matches and 10 times this season
- Bel Zimmerman (5 blocks) has recorded at least five blocks in three straight matches
- Zimmerman also recorded the 200th block of her career
- Grave Havlicek (5 blocks) has recorded at least four blocks in three straight matches and nine times this season
- Liz Markovska (10 kills) has reached double digits in eight matches this season