AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn volleyball closes out the SEC regular season at Mississippi State, looking for a win that could get them the 11-seed at the SEC Tournament next weekend. The Tigers (14-12, 4-10 SEC) need a win and losses from both Oklahoma and Arkansas to earn the 11-seed. Otherwise, Auburn will play in the No. 12-No. 13 match in the opening round of the tournament. The Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-8, 7-7 SEC) stand between the Tigers and a more desirable path through the SEC tournament.
ON THE AIR
- Sunday's match will be streamed on SEC Network+ at 2 p.m. CT. Graham Doty (PxP) and Morgan Hester (Analyst) will be on the call.
LAST TIME OUT
- Auburn lost its midweek match at Alabama in four sets.
- The Tigers had a strong opening set, including an 11-point run, the longest of the season.
- Belle Patrick notched her eighth straight match with double-digit kills, extending the team's longest streak of the season.
- Grace Havlicek hit .400 with five kills on 10 attempts. She continues to top the single-season hitting percentage list at .394. Havlicek logged a pair of blocks to move herself into eighth on the single-season blocks list during the 25-point rally era with 110.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
- The Bulldogs are riding a two-match losing streak entering the week with straight-set losses to Tennessee and Kentucky.
- Mississippi State is 17-8 overall with a 7-7 record in Southeastern Conference play.
- The Bulldogs' strongest win of the season was a sweep over Georgia on Oct. 9. Mississippi State has chalked up its schedule in terms of the SEC standings, defeating every team with a worse record, but losing to every team with a better record.
- Mississippi State is strong in its defensive and passing game, ranking at the top of the SEC in digs per set with 15.33 and totaling just 67 reception errors this season.
- Libero McKenna Yates is second in the SEC and 38th nationally with 4.48 digs per set.
- Both Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss (51st; .376) and Noella Obi (71st; .365) rank in the top-100 nationally in hitting percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
- Auburn has won three of its last four against Mississippi State and has a 3-2 record against the Bulldogs since Brent Crouch took over the program.
- The Tigers are on a two-match winning streak in the season with wins in both Auburn and Starkville.
- Auburn swept Mississippi State in last season's edition. Liz Markovska led Auburn with 19 kills on 40 attempts, hitting .375.
- Kate Mansfield and Havlicek had strong matches against the Bulldogs last season. Mansfield hit 4-of-9 with no errors and five blocks. Havlicek had four blocks.
- The all-time series in Starkville is tied 16-16.
HAVLICEK WITH THE BLOCK!
- 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 1.15 blocks per set, the sixth-best mark by a Tiger in the 25-point rally era.
- Her 110 blocks this season tied her 2025 total for the eighth-most ever in an Auburn season.
- 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.
A NEW LOOK OFFENSE
- 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 Anastasija 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 Emma 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 ›› .237
- Kills per set: 10.95 ›› 12.71
- Assists per set: 10.20 ›› 11.79
- Points per set: 14.10 ›› 16.26
- Blocks per set: 2.05 ›› 2.50
DOUBLE DIGITS FOR PATRICK
- Patrick has recorded double-digit kills in each of the last eight matches.
- Eight matches is the longest streak by a Tiger this season and is Patrick's career-long.
- Patrick has 111 kills, 46 attack errors, and 302 attacks over the seven-match span, hitting .215.
- 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 he had a streak-high .355 hitting percentage against South Carolina in the next match.
UP NEXT
- Auburn heads to Savannah, Ga. for the SEC Volleyball Tournament, opening bracket play on Friday, Nov. 20. The Tigers' opponent and match time will be set following Sunday's results around the conference.
—War Eagle—