STARKVILLE, Miss. — Auburn volleyball won its regular season finale in a strong straight-set victory at Mississippi State. The Tigers (15-12, 5-10 SEC) dominated the first two sets, blocking Mississippi State (17-9, 7-8 SEC) eight times in the two frames. Auburn won a tightly contested third set, overcoming a 17-14 deficit to win 25-23.
Shanelle Puetz logged her second double-double of the season with 30 assists and a season-high 13 digs. Emma Moore and Grace Havlicek led the blocking charge for the Tigers with six and five blocks, respectively.
Mississippi State went on a 5-0 run to erase an early Auburn lead, but the Tigers immediately responded with their own 4- 0 streak to tie the opening set at 7-7. Havlicek led a 5-1 run with three blocks and a kill to give the Tigers a 14-11 lead. The Tigers extended their lead to five after kills by Patrick, Kate Mansfield, Puetz, and Anastasija Ivkovic led Auburn on a 6-2 run. Auburn finished the set with three straight points off Mississippi State errors. Auburn had five blocks in the opening set, including three from Havlicek.
Set two opened with runs from both teams. Auburn scored the first three points of the set, responded to by four straight Bulldog points. Then Havlicek and Ivkovic each had a kill and block along a 4-0 run to regain the Tiger lead, but three more Mississippi State points tied the set at 7-7. After a timeout, Auburn went on a 4-0 run to take the first consistent lead of the set. Auburn expanded its lead to seven after another four-point run with kills from Patrick and Ivkovic, taking a 20-13 lead. Auburn once again opened its lead, this time to eight points with a four-point run. The Tigers won the set on an Ivkovic kill, 25-18.
Mississippi State used a 7-2 run to erase an early Auburn lead in the third set, eventually taking a 15-12 lead into the media timeout. The Tigers used a 6-2 run of their own to take the lead at 19-18, but a 4-2 Mississippi State stretch regained the lead for the Bulldogs, forcing an Auburn timeout at 22-21. The Tigers responded with a 4-1 run to clinch the match, finishing with Auburn's 11th block of the match, by Patrick and Moore.
NOTABLES
- Patrick extended her streak to nine straight matches with 10 or more kills.
- Puetz's double-double was her second of the season. She recorded a season-high 13 digs in the performance.
TIGER STANDOUTS
- Puetz recorded her second double-double of the season with a match-high 30 assists and a season-high 13 digs. Puetz also logged two blocks, an ace, and a kill.
- Moore led Auburn with six blocks. Moore also hit 2-of-4 with two digs.
- Patrick's 12 kills on 42 attempts were both match highs.
- Ivkovic had 10 kills for the first time in a three-set match this season. Ivkovic's four digs were a season high.
- Macy McAmis's nine digs set an SEC-play high.
HEAD COACH BRENT CROUCH
- "That was a perfectly timed result for us. It was the exact response we needed. We knew what we needed to do today and executed very well on that front. The blocking was back today; the passing was back today. Altogether, it was a great win! War Eagle!"
UP NEXT
- Auburn awaits the result of Oklahoma vs. Vanderbilt late Sunday night to determine its final seeding at next weekend's SEC Tournament in Savannah. Auburn will either earn the 11-seed with a Vanderbilt victory or a 12-seed with an Oklahoma win. The SEC tournament begins on Friday, Nov. 20.
—War Eagle—