AUBURN, Ala. – Three Tigers managed double-doubles on Sunday, but Auburn (13-4, 4-2) wasn’t able to outlast No. 25 Missouri (10-7, 2-4) in a four-set battle, 3-1 (23-25, 32-30, 25-17, 25-23).
The Orange and Blue offense wasn’t quite in its normal rhythm to begin the match, but head coach Brent Crouch and his crew were finding ways to win points.
Sophomore Lauren Dreves led the way with three kills as Eden Bower, Kate Mansfield, Grace Havlicek and Liz Markovska all recorded a pair.
It was the Auburn defense, though, that made the most significant impact on the opening frame. Both Bower and Mansfield managed two rejections. Meanwhile, Alexis Dacosta tracked down seven digs. Shanelle Puetz and Makrovska each ran down four as well, holding Missouri to just .119 hitting to create some separation.
Even though the visitors made a run at the end of the set, Auburn finished off Missouri to take a 1-0 lead.
Set two featured more of the same for the home side. Dreves hammered home 10 kills on .348 hitting. The Vancouver, Washington native would finish with a career-high 20 kills with 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.
Dacosta was equally as impressive. Eleven of her 24 digs came in the second set. The senior libero has now produced back-to-back 20-dig performances.
Auburn led by as many as four, 24-20, in a set that featured 17 ties and seven lead changes. A furious run from Missouri pushed the set into extra points. The Orange and Blue battled through the momentum shift, but the visitors were able to find the right button to push to even the match at one set apiece.
Momentum firmly in hand, Missouri pressed its foot to the floor in the third set. Havlicek delivered four kills in the stanza on her way to a career-best eight on the afternoon, but it wasn’t enough to stop Missouri’s offense as Auburn found itself in a 2-1 deficit.
Crouch’s crew led throughout most of the fourth frame. Puetz and fellow setter Kalei Edson alternated between Markovska (4 kills), Dreves (3 kills) and Bel Zimmerman (3 kills). Markovska ended the match with 10 kills and 11 digs for her second double-double of the season. Puetz equaled the effort with 21 assists and 10 digs for her team-leading fourth double-double of the year.
However, Missouri kept pace.
Zimmerman dialed up two big blocks, but one last burst from the visiting side saw Missouri vault in front at the end of the set to take the match, 3-1.
WHAT CROUCH HAD TO SAY
Head Coach, Brent Crouch
“We’ve been losing the kill battle for the past couple of matches now, and I was wondering when that was going to catch up to us. We’ve been playing cleaner volleyball, which is good, but we have to find kills, especially at the end of sets. I think we had that team on the ropes, but we let them back in it. They took all the momentum back and it was tough to turn it around. Credit to them for doing that. There are still plenty of positives to carry with us moving forward, and we’ll need them with a tough road schedule next week.”
MATCH NOTES
- Auburn managed 11 blocks, marking the 10th time the Tigers have produced 10 or more blocks in a match this season
- Auburn has now delivered five aces in back-to-back matches
- Lauren Dreves (20 kills) set a new career high
- Dreves (10 digs) also delivered her fourth double-double of the season
- Kate Mansfield (6 blocks) has now had at least five blocks in nine straight matches
- Alexis Dacosta (24 digs) has now had at least 20 digs in back-to-back matches and has done so on three different occasions this season
- Grace Havlicek set a new career high in kills with eight
- Shanelle Puetz (21 assists, 10 digs) notched her fourth double-double of the season
- Liz Markovska (10 kills, 11 digs) recorded her second double-double of the season