AUBURN, Ala.— The Auburn volleyball team plays at Neville Arena for the first time this season, hosting the Alabama Showdown. The Tigers will welcome UAB, Samford, and South Alabama to the Plains. Auburn will kick off its weekend against the UAB Blazers at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Brent Crouch’s team will then take on Samford at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, and end the weekend with South Alabama at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Neville Arena will host two additional neutral-site matches. South Alabama and Samford will open the tournament at 3 p.m. on Thursday. Then UAB and South Alabama will play at 3 p.m. on Friday. The full tournament can be followed on the tournament central page, here.
HOME...AT LAST
- Auburn Volleyball debuts at home this week, the last SEC team to do so this season.
- The nine-match streak on the road is the longest stretch of games away from Neville Arena for the Tigers since 2019 (10 matches).
- The Tigers finished 2025 with an 8-3 record at home. Auburn is 46-26 under Crouch at Neville Arena.
ON THE AIR
- Auburn's first two matches of the Alabama Showdown will be available to watch on SEC Network+. Thursday's match against UAB will feature JJ Jackson (PxP) and Kele Eveland (Analyst). Lyn Rollins (PxP) and Paige Wetzel (Analyst) will be on the call for Friday's match vs Samford.
SEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Junior Middle Blocker Grace Havlicek is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week.
- Havlicek logged 20 blocks across the Tigers' 4-0 week.
- A season-high seven blocks at Florida State opened the week, followed by a six-block performance at UIC. Havlicek closed the week with five blocks at DePaul.
- The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. native was stellar on the offensive side of the net as well, with eight kills in three different matches, hitting .600 and .800 against UIC and Central Michigan, respectively.
- Havlicek had three aces against both UIC and DePaul.
LAST TIME OUT
- Auburn wrapped up its road swing with a 3-0 weekend in Chicago. The Tigers swept UIC and Central Michigan before ending the week with a four-set victory at DePaul.
- With All-SEC selection Lauren Dreves still out, players from all across the board stepped up with career highs. Greer Chambless logged a career-high 17 kills at DePaul. Anastasija Ivkovic set career-highs with 12 kills at DePaul and seven blocks at UIC. Belle Patrick continued to guide the Auburn offense, leading the Tiger offense in kills against UIC and Central Michigan.
- Grace Havlicek's SEC Defensive Player of the Week performance guided a heavy week of blocking. Auburn's 12 blocks at UIC were the most to date this season.
- Emily Keiran tied her career-high with 17 digs at DePaul. Keiran added a career-high nine assists to her stat line at DePaul. Macy McAmis doubled her previous career-high with 10 digs at DePaul.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
UAB Blazers (6-3)
- UAB enters the Alabama Showdown on a four-match winning streak, 6-3 overall on the season. The Blazers swept the week in Rochester, Mich., last week.
- Sophomore Kennedy Vaughn leads the UAB attack with 119 kills, averaging 3.40 kills per set. Senior Mia Reese is shortly behind Vaughn with 3.06 kills per set.
- Rachel McCollum and Annastiina Tarkkanen have split time at setter this season.
- Addyson Smock and Sydney Austin lead the blocking charge for UAB. Smock averages 1.25 blocks per set, while Austin comes in at 1.08 blocks per set.
Samford Bulldogs (2-5)
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 3-1 win over Jacksonville State. Samford is 2-5 overall on the season, dropping matches to Alabama, UC Riverside, MTSU, Vanderbilt, and North Alabama
- Senior Outside Hitter Ally Cordes leads Samford with 3.75 kills per set, 105 overall through seven matches. Brianna Hamilton's .286 hitting percentage is the best amongst the Bulldogs.
- Freshman Alison Ohlinger is Samford's lone setter, averaging 9.64 assists per set with 0.46 aces per set.
- Hazel Slusher is the only Bulldog averaging above one block per set, currently sitting at 1.33 stuffs per frame.
South Alabama Jaguars (3-6)
- South Alabama enters the tournament 3-6, coming off a 1-2 weekend at home, losing to Georgia and Tulane.
- South Alabama has picked up wins over Georgia State, Belmont, and Kennesaw State this past weekend.
- No Jaguar boasts more than three kills per set. Cambria Gaier leads the team with 2.97 kills per set. Gaier also leads South Alabama with 0.42 aces per set.
- Anabelle Cerny's 8.78 assists per set lead the team as the Jaguars' primary setter.
- Dalayla Blackwell leads the team with 1.03 blocks per set, including 12 solo blocks in 36 sets.
SERIES HISTORIES
- Auburn has dominated the recent history against UAB, winning the last 15 matchups in the series. Auburn has defeated the Blazers in each of the last four seasons. UAB hasn't won against Auburn since 1992.
- The Tigers have won seven of eight all-time matchups against Samford, with the Bulldogs' lone win coming in 2008 in Auburn. Auburn has won each of the last four matches, 3-1.
- Auburn has won 10 straight against South Alabama, but has not swept the Jaguars since 2017, the last time the squads met in Auburn. South Alabama hasn't won a meeting since 1986.
UP NEXT
- Auburn Volleyball kicks off SEC play with a single match at Arkansas on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. The Tigers will then return home to host ranked Kentucky and Tennessee the following week.
—War Eagle—