AUBURN, Ala. – Four hitters reached double figures as Auburn (14-6, 5-4) outpaced Arkansas (5-15, 1-8) in four sets, 3-1 (25-13, 25-21, 21-25, 25-19) to get back in the win column on Wednesday night in Neville Arena.
Head coach Brent Crouch could not have asked for a more balanced attack in set No. 1. Bolstered by solid passing, Shanelle Puetz and Kalei Edson had their choice of attacking options to choose from. Lauren Dreves, Grace Havlicek, Liz Markovska and Greer Chambless all ended with three kills apiece as the Tigers hit .342 in the opening frame.
Defensively, both Havlicek and Chambless combined for two blocks, while Alexis Dacosta ran down the first five of her 21 digs on the evening. It all added up to .079 hitting percentage for the Razorbacks and a dominant win in set one.
The second stanza featured 11 ties and three lead changes as both teams rarely found any space for the majority of the set.
Dreves and Chambless both clamored home four kills as the offense hit another solid .257. Dreves would end the night with 12 kills and 11 digs for her seventh double-double of the season and fourth in a row. Edson also jumped in on the double-double party as well with a career-best 30 assists and 12 digs.
Chambless, the freshman from Dallas, Texas, tallied a career-high 14 kills on a robust .370 hitting percentage to go along with five blocks.
It was the defense late, though, that pushed Auburn over the top. Kate Mansfield dialed up three big rejections as the Tigers out-blocked Arkansas 5-0 in the second set, leading to a swift 2-0 lead.
Arkansas wasn’t going to go away quietly, however.
Despite four kills from Zimmerman, five from Markovska and four more from Chambless, the Razorbacks managed a .515 hitting percentage to keep the Orange and Blue at an arm’s length for most of the third set. Auburn utilized a 4-0 run to get as close as 20-23, but Arkansas found the right buttons to push to force a set four.
There would be no messing around for Crouch’s crew in what would be the final frame.
Bel Zimmerman collected seven of her match-high 15 kills in the fourth set alone, hitting an outstanding .700 on her 10 swings. Markovska, Dreves and Chambless all followed suit to make sure Auburn would let the home fans leave happy.
In the end, Zimmerman (15), Markovska (14), Chambless (14) and Dreves (12) all managed double-figure kill totals, and Dacosta (21 digs) produced her fifth 20-dig effort of the year. It all added up to the Tigers’ 14th victory of the season and fifth in SEC play.
WHAT CROUCH HAD TO SAY
Head coach, Brent Crouch
“Very pleased to come out of here with the win tonight. Overall, we’ve been asking our team to find more kills, swing harder in certain spots and to play with a little more confidence. I think they did that very well for most of the evening. What Greer (Chambless) has been able to do on the right side takes the pressure off our left sides and our offense excels because of it. There was a little dip in the third set there. Arkansas changed some things up and it took us a minute to adjust. But I’m proud of how they refocused for the fourth set and got the job done.”
MATCH NOTES
-Auburn had four players reach double figures in kills for the first time this season
- Auburn’s four aces marked the 10th time the Tigers have had at least four in a match this season
- Auburn’s 65 total kills and 61 assists were both season highs
- Lauren Dreves (12 kills) reached double digits for the 18th time this season and fifth match in a row
- With 11 digs, Dreves notched her team-leading seventh double-double and fourth in a row
- Kalei Edson finished with a career-high 30 assists
- With 12 digs, Edson grabbed her third double-double of the season
- Kate Mansfield (5 blocks) has had at least five blocks in 16 matches this season
- Bel Zimmerman set a season high with 15 kills
- Alexis Dacosta (21 digs) has had at least 20 digs in five matches this season
- Grace Havlicek (4 blocks) has had at least four blocks in 14 matches this season and four matches in a row
- Liz Markovska 14 kills has reached double figures in 15 matches this season
- Greer Chambless set new career highs in kills (14), digs (3) and blocks (5)