Auburn ready for rivalry match at Alabama

• Wednesday's match will be televised on SEC Network at 8 p.m. CT. Kevin Fitzgerald (PxP) and Kelly Burke (Analyst) will be on the call.

• The Tigers got back in the win column on Sunday afternoon, defeating South Carolina 25-23, 25-16, 25-19.
• Patrick led Auburn with 15 kills, hitting .355.
• Havlicek had seven total blocks and five kills on 10 attempts. Havlicek is averaging 1.81 blocks per set across the last four matches.
• Anastasija Ivkovic had seven kills and four blocks.
• Moore was 4-of-4 on attacks, plus four blocks.
• Eden Bower had four blocks, five digs, and two kills.
• Kate Mansfield (8) and Bower (5) each had career-highs in digs.
• Auburn took a six-point lead deep into the opening set, eventually losing it as South Carolina tied the set 21-21 with a 7-2 run. Auburn responded out of a timeout to win the set 25-23.
• The Tigers went on a 5-1 run into the second-set media timeout to lead 15-11. A 5-0 run expanded the Tiger lead to seven, eventually growing to nine for the 25-16 set victory.
• Auburn went on an 8-2 run to begin the third set. South Carolina closed in on the Tigers but never tied the set. Auburn eventually opened its lead back up to four, then won five of the final eight points to win on a Symone Sims ace, 25-19.

• Alabama enters the week 9-13 overall with just one win in 13 SEC matches.
• Alabama easily ranks as the worst SEC team according to the RPI report, beginning the week at 222, falling 93 spots behind the 15th-place SEC team, South Carolina.
• The Crimson Tide's lone conference win is over South Carolina, defeating the Gamecocks in four sets.
• Alabama has pushed multiple SEC opponents to five sets, notably including Vanderbilt and LSU both on the road, plus Georgia, Arkansas, and Mississippi State at home.
• Alabama got two non-conference A4 victories, beating Iowa, 3-1, and Virginia, 3-1.
• Alabama only ranks in the top-100 nationally in one team stat, aces per set, with 1.69, the 65th-best mark in the country.
• Hannah Parant is doing much of the heavy lifting for the Alabama service with 0.50 aces per set, the 26th-best individual mark in the country.
• The Crimson Tide ranks seventh-worst among Division I teams.
• Laney Hennessee leads Alabama with 2.98 kills per set, hitting .222 this season.
• Lily Gervase's 0.94 blocks per set lead the team.

• The Tigers have dominated the series since Brent Crouch took over at the helm of Auburn volleyball, winning eight of nine matches against the Crimson Tide.
• Alabama leads the all-time series 50-41. Including a 25-14 record in Tuscaloosa.
• Auburn won its first four matches against Alabama in Tuscaloosa after Crouch took over the program.
• Auburn swept the Crimson Tide in last season's matchup, winning 25-19, 25-21, 25-19.
• Current Auburn assistant coach Liz Markovska had 10 kills against Alabama last season with nine digs.
• Mansfield and Havlicek led Auburn with five blocks each.

• Junior middle blocker Havlicek is averaging 1.81 blocks per set across the last two weeks with 29 blocks over 16 sets.
• Havlicek tied her season-high with seven blocks against Florida on Oct. 30.
• Havlicek then set a new season-high with eight blocks against Oklahoma in Auburn's 3-2 win on Nov. 1.
• The Jupiter, Fla., native recorded seven blocks in back-to-back matches against Georgia and South Carolina.
• Havlicek is averaging 1.17 blocks per set, the fifth-best mark by a Tiger in the 25-point rally era.
• In addition to her blocking, Havlicek is hitting .394 on the season with 141 kills and 31 errors on 279 attempts.
• The .394 mark qualifies as the most efficient attacking season in Auburn history, ahead of Jaunelle Hamilton's record .375 season in 1998.

• Mansfield made the switch to pin hitter from middle blocker ahead of Auburn's match at Texas on Oct. 16. Originally, Mansfield primarily played on the right side when Ivkovic rotated into the back row.
• Now, Mansfield hits out of the back row when setter Shanelle Puetz rotates into the front row.
• Making Mansfield a hitter brought Moore back into the rotation as a starting middle blocker, giving her her first consistent time starting since returning from a near two-year injury recovery from Tommy John surgery.
• In SEC play, notable splits before and after moving Mansfield to the pins include:
  • Hitting Percentage: .153 ›› .247
  • Kills per set: 10.95 ›› 12.87
  • Assists per set: 10.20 ›› 12.00
  • Points per set: 14.10 ›› 16.67
  • Blocks per set: 2.05 ›› 2.70

• Patrick has recorded double-digit kills in each of the last seven matches.
• Seven matches is the longest streak by a Tiger this season and is Patrick's career-long.
• Patrick has 97 kills, 37 attack errors, and 263 attacks over the seven-match span, hitting .228.
• Patrick's streak began with 16 kills at Texas A&M, followed by 15 kills in three sets vs Ole Miss.
• Patrick's single-match high during the streak came at 17 kills vs Georgia, then had a streak-high .355 hitting percentage against South Carolina in the next match.

• The Tigers finish the regular season at Mississippi State on Sunday, Nov. 15. Auburn and Mississippi State are set for a 2 p.m. season finale to determine the final seeding and matches in the SEC tournament next weekend.

—War Eagle—