AUBURN, Ala. – Outside hitters Lauren Dreves and Liz Markovska combined for 34 kills on Sunday afternoon inside Neville Arena, powering Auburn (11-2, 2-0) to its second straight SEC sweep over Mississippi State (11-1, 1-1), 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-17).
Dreves notched a team-high 14 kills on Friday against Alabama. On Sunday, the sophomore from Vancouver, Washington raised the bar even higher.
Opening with seven kills on 13 swings with zero errors, Dreves was near-perfect. Benefitting from dynamite passing from Markovska and Alexis Docosta, the offense was operating on all cylinders.
It wasn’t just the offense, though. Dreves tallied four of her career-best six blocks in the opening frame, including a solo effort.
When the set was tied at 20, Zoe Slaughter stepped to the service line and delivered when the Tigers needed her most. Keeping the Bulldogs out of system, Auburn finished off the set with a 5-2 run.
In set two, Dreves added four more kills to her tally. She would finish the afternoon with 15 kills, 13 digs and six blocks for her third double-double of the season.
However, fellow outside Liz Markovska wanted in on the fun.
After six kills in set one, Markovska piled up five more in set two. The Menifee, California product supplied a season-best 19 kills on an incredible .375 hitting.
Once again, Mississippi State would play tough at the end of set two. It was Markovska, though, who arrived with two timely aces to give the Orange and Blue the cushion it needed to mount a 2-0 lead.
Fans would be hard-pressed to find something to complain about in set three. Markovska racked up eight kills and an ace, Dreves added four more to her total, Bel Zimmerman supplied three blocks and Kate Mansfield compiled two of her own. Service runs from Dreves, Markovska and Slaughter had the Tigers playing on the front foot.
At the end of the day, setters Shanelle Puetz and Kalei Edson operated an offense that hit .295. Meanwhile, the defense held MSU to just .198, utilizing blocks from Dreves (6), Mansfield (5), Zimmerman (5) and Grace Havlicek (4). Dacosta contributed 13 digs as well. Her fourth dig of the match was the 500th of her career in an Auburn uniform.
All of the numbers added up to a stout three-set sweep, keeping Auburn undefeated to start SEC Play
What Crouch had to say
Head Coach, Brent Crouch
“I continue to be impressed time and time again with how this team competes. Mississippi State is a good team. They proved that on Friday night and they are going to win more matches in this conference. We answered the call today. The last two matches, we’ve had the best passing statistics all season, and you can see what it does for our offense. Defensively, everyone is getting better at reading, getting their footwork right and being in the right places. I was particularly happy with how we ended sets today. Those first two were neck-and-neck, but we stepped up and closed the door. Those are the kinds of things that, as a coach, you want to see when you’re playing tough opponents like we will every week in this conference.”
Match Notes
- Auburn recorded 12 total team blocks, marking the fourth straight match the Tigers have reached double digits and the ninth time they’ve accomplished the feat this season.
- Auburn held Mississippi State to .198 hitting, marking the 11th time in 13 matches the Tigers have held their opponent below .200 this season
- Auburn’s four aces were the most since recording four against South Alabama. It was the seventh time the Tigers have recorded at least four aces in a match this season
- Lauren Dreves (15 kills) has now reached double digits in 12 of the 13 matches this season and has notched at least 15 in seven different matches
- Dreves also set a career high in blocks with six
- With 13 digs, Dreves also notched her third double-double of the season
- Kate Mansfield (5 blocks) has now recorded at least five blocks in five straight matches and 10 different times in 2025
- Bel Zimmerman (5 blocks) has now recorded at least five blocks in four straight matches
- Alexis Dacosta (13 digs) has reached double digits in 10 matches this season
- Dacosta also reached her 500th dig in an Auburn uniform
- Grace Havlicek (4 blocks) has recorded at least four blocks in four straight matches and 10 different times this season
- Liz Markovska (19 kills) set a season high and has reached double digits in 10 separate matches this season