AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn led from start to finish, easily brushing past Jackson State, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-14) for the Tigers’ fourth-straight victory on Friday evening inside Neville Arena.
The opening set was a model of even distribution from the Orange and Blue setters. Shanelle Puetz and Kalei Edson let the likes of Lauren Dreves, Liz Markovska and Bel Zimmerman collect kill after kill. Markovska found four, Dreves powered down three and Zimmerman delivered a pair. As a team, Auburn hit a robust .305.
Defensively, it wasn’t quite the block party from Wednesday evening. However, Dreves, Eden Bower, Kate Mansfield and Grace Havlicek all dialed up rejections to help the Tigers get off to a hot start.
Havlicek wasn’t just producing on the defensive end, the middle blocker from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, brought a mean serve to Friday’s match. Havlicek dropped in two aces in the opening set, but saved her best for the third when she recorded three in a row.
Her five aces were the most in a single match since Jackie Barrett against South Alabama in 2023.
Most of the second frame was close. The set was tied at 19 apiece before the Auburn block, Dreves and Markovska rose to the occasion.
Four more kills from Dreves, plus three from Markovska, combined with three blocks from Bower and Zimmerman put the Tigers over the top and delivered head coach Brent Crouch a two-set lead.
Bower, the BYU transfer, notched a career-best six blocks.
Service pressure was the name of the game in the third set. While Havlicek and Markovska were supplying the aces, the rest of the team kept Jackson State out of system, leading to easier kills for the outside hitters.
Dreves would finish her evening with a match-high 12 kills on a robust .333 hitting. Markovska wasn’t too far behind with 11.
Crouch’s crew hit .462 in the final frame, making quick work of the visitors and giving the Auburn faithful something to cheer for to begin the weekend.
WHAT CROUCH HAD TO SAY
Head coach, Brent Crouch
“Playing five matches in eight days is no small feat. Jackson State is a tough, scrappy team who provided some unique challenges. Very proud of how hard the team worked this week. We’ll have a couple of days' rest before we get going again next week. Virginia and Florida State will be difficult matches, but we’ll be ready.”
MATCH NOTES
- The Tigers’ 10 total aces were the most since beating South Alabama in five sets in 2023.
- Auburn held Jackson State to .153 hitting, marking the third time this season the Tigers have held their opponent below .200.
- Lauren Dreves (12 kills) reached double digits for the fifth straight match, the longest such streak of her career.
- Eden Bower’s six blocks were a career-high.
- Grace Havlicek’s five aces were a career-best.
- Liz Markovska (11 kills) reached double digits for the third time this season.