AUBURN, Ala.— The Auburn volleyball team heads to Chicago for its final three road matches of the 2026 non-conference slate. The Tigers will open the weekend at Illinois-Chicago on Friday, followed by matches against Central Michigan and at DePaul on Saturday and Sunday.
IN THE WINDY CITY
›› Auburn volleyball hits the road one last time before its home opener next week at Neville Arena. The Tigers close the road swing at UIC and the DePaul Invitational in Chicago, Ill.
›› The Tigers will open the weekend at 6 p.m. on Sept. 11 against UIC. Saturday will feature a noon first serve against Central Michigan. Then, Auburn wraps up the weekend against hosts, DePaul, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13.
ON THE AIR
›› Two of Auburn's weekend matches will be streamed on ESPN+. The weekend opener against UIC and the away match against DePaul will be available on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
›› Auburn bounced back with a power-conference opponent away victory on Tuesday night. The Tigers defeated Florida State, 3-1, at Tully Arena in Tallahassee despite missing All-SEC outside hitter, Lauren Dreves.
›› Belle Patrick stepped into Dreves's role, leading the team with 14 kills on 39 swings.
›› Grace Havlicek dominated at the net, stuffing Seminole attacks a season-high seven times while adding eight errorless kills on the offensive side of the rally.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
ILLINOIS-CHICAGO
›› UIC has struggled to open the season, picking up its lone victory at St. Thomas in five sets last weekend. The Flames have been swept three times in six matches.
›› The Flames went 17-10 in 2025 with an 11-5 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.
›› UIC Head Coach Justin Ingram has never had a losing season in 10 years at the program.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
›› Central Michigan enters the DePaul Invitational winless, winning just one set through seven matches this season.
›› The Chippewas rank in the bottom-10 of DI in kills per set with just 9.55.
DePAUL
›› DePaul opened the season with four consecutive wins, but has since dropped straight-set matches to #1 Nebraska and #12 Penn State.
›› The Blue Demons are led offensively by Kendall Timme's 3.85 kills/set, hitting .230.
›› Jade Epps adds 41 kills and a .300 hitting percentage. Epps leads the squad with 27 total blocks.
SERIES HISTORIES
›› Auburn shares a short history with all three of its opponents this weekend, with just six all-time matchups against the three programs combined.
›› The Tigers and UIC meet for the first time since 1997, when Auburn defeated the Flames in three sets.
›› Auburn and Central Michigan have the longest history of this weekend's opponents, having played three times since 1987. Auburn leads the all-time series 2-1, winning the previous two matches in 1992 and 2012.
›› The Tigers have swept both matches in the series history against DePaul. Auburn defeated the Blue Demons in Chicago in 1987, then again at a neutral site in 2007.
UP NEXT
›› Auburn Volleyball hosts its home opener next week on Thursday, September 17, at 6 p.m. against UAB, a part of the Alabama Challenge. The weekend tournament will see five matches total at Neville from Thursday to Saturday, featuring the visiting Blazers as well as Samford and South Alabama.
—War Eagle—