AUBURN, Ala. – Behind a season-high 11 aces and 20 kills from Lauren Dreves, Auburn (15-6, 6-4) took down Oklahoma (12-8, 4-6) in four sets, 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-20, 25-17).
The opening stanza went back and forth. Oklahoma led by as many as five, 18-13, before head coach Brent Crouch and his crew began to solve some problems.
Dynamite serving from both Shanelle Puetz and Liz Markovska put the Tigers in position to rattle off a couple of scoring runs. Each recorded an ace, as did Kate Mansfield, turning the momentum in favor of Auburn.
Combined with her five kills, Dreves’ first block of the game tied the set at 20 and Auburn never looked back. Bel Zimmerman added four kills from the right side as the Orange and Blue took set one and the lead, 25-21.
The home side jumped out to an early lead, making it difficult for the Tigers to climb out of the hole. A 10-4 start and a 7-1 run had the Sooners up 15-5.
Crouch and company weren’t deterred, though.
Three more kills from Dreves, and more importantly, two more blocks started a comeback. Auburn brought it all the way back to 19-21 before Oklahoma found the right buttons to push to tie up the match at one set apiece.
Back to basics, Orange and Blue servers went to work in set three. Five more aces, including two from Mansfield, and one each from Dreves, Kalei Edson, and Liz Makorvska, put the Tigers in prime position.
Dreves added four more kills on a dominant afternoon for the sophomore from Vancouver, Washington. She would end her afternoon tying her career high with 20 kills on an incredible .457 hitting percentage, with six blocks and four digs.
Leading two sets to one, Crouch and Co. had their sights set on the biggest road victory of the season.
The final frame featured seven ties and three lead changes before Auburn kicked up the intensity at the end of the set. Dreves hammered home her final eight kills, the front row produced three timely blocks and Alexis Dacosta secured four of her 19 digs.
Dacosta, with 10 assists, notched her first career double-double.
When the dust settled, the Tigers held a high-powered Oklahoma offense to just .203, recorded a season-high 11 aces and dialed up nine blocks to secure an important road victory, 3-1.
WHAT CROUCH HAD TO SAY
Head coach, Brent Crouch
“What an important win for us today. I’m so proud of our team and how they performed. I think our coaching staff came up with a great game plan today, and they went out and executed it. Oklahoma is such a physical team with extremely talented outsides. We knew they were going to get some high-energy kills, but we didn’t let that rattle us. There are so many things I can point to today that contributed to this win. Our energy level, defensive effort, Lauren (Dreves) on the outside, Alexis (Dacosta), everyone blocking at the net, they all made a difference. I’m hoping this gives us a little juice going forward as we continue an important week.”
MATCH NOTES
- Auburn’s 11 aces were a season high, marking the third time the Tigers reached double digits this season
- Lauren Dreves tied her career high with 20 kills
- Alexis Dacosta (19 digs) reached double digits for the 16th time this season and sixth straight match
- With 10 assists, Dacosta notched her first career double-double
- Dacosta has also recorded at least 15 digs in five of the last six matches
- Kate Mansfield (4 blocks) has recorded at least four blocks in back-to-back matches