AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn volleyball is set to host South Carolina for senior day on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers (13-11, 3-9 SEC) look to bounce back from a close Friday night loss to Georgia. The Gamecocks (9-13, 2-10 SEC) visit the Plains on a four-match losing streak.
Auburn volleyball will honor its seniors post-match on Sunday. The Tiger seniors include Eden Bower, Symone Sims, Jasmine Okeoma, and Shanelle Puetz. Additionally, student managers Karlee Carrell and Carter Gjesvold, as well as athletic training student Hallie Rogers, will be celebrated.
ON THE AIR
- Sunday's match will be streamed on SEC Network+ at 2 p.m. CT. JJ Jackson (PxP) and Paige Wetzel (Analyst) will be on the call.
LAST TIME OUT
- Auburn dropped its match Friday, 3-2 to Georgia.
- The Bulldogs won the match 25-23, 22-25, 22-25, 26-24, 15-13.
- Georgia won the opening set, leading the majority of the set until a 10-3 Auburn run put the Tigers ahead briefly. The Bulldogs would regain the lead late to win 25-23.
- Auburn took a strong lead at 18-12, fending off a Georgia comeback with a Mansfield-Havlicek block combo. The Tigers hit .312 in the set and tied the season high with six blocks in the set.
- After a tight opening to the beginning of the set, Auburn opened a 21-18 lead with a 5-2 run. Auburn and Georgia sided out until the end of the set, giving Auburn the 25-22 set win.
- Georgia came back in the middle of the set with a 6-1 run to take a 14-10 lead, then kept their distance from Auburn until the Tigers used a four-point run to tie at 21-21. Georgia edged the set victory, 26-24.
- Georgia took a 13-7 lead on an 8-2 run to dig a deep hole for the Tigers. Auburn won five straight points to pull within a point, but Bianna Muoneke's 27th kill of the match won the match for the Bulldogs.
- Grace Havlicek led all Auburn hitters with a .579 hitting percentage with 13 kills and two errors on 19 attacks. Havlicek also led Auburn with seven blocks.
- Belle Patrick led all Tigers with 17 kills. She hit .205 on 44 attacks. Patrick's 17 kills were her most since the SEC opener at Arkansas, 29.
- Puetz was one dig shy of a 57-assist double-double. Puetz also logged four kills and three blocks playing the front row for the first time since Oct. 9 at Vanderbilt. Puetz led Auburn with a pair of aces.
- Auburn has averaged 2.92 blocks per set as a team across the last three matches. Havlicek, individually, has averaged 1.69 blocks across the same span.
- Emma Moore logged a career-high 11.0 points with eight kills and six blocks against Georgia.
- Bower saw her season-high in playing time against Georgia; she logged an Auburn-high nine kills.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
- South Carolina is 9-13 overall and 2-10 in SEC play coming to the Plains.
- The Gamecocks' two SEC wins came over Arkansas, 3-2, and Ole Miss, 3-1.
- South Carolina is riding a four-match losing streak, with each of the last three matches against currently-ranked opponents: Texas, Vanderbilt, and Florida.
- South Carolina shares a common non-conference opponent with Auburn in ETSU. The Gamecocks lost to ETSU, 3-2; Auburn defeated ETSU in four sets.
- South Carolina only ranks in the top 100 nationally in blocks per set, the 50th best in the nation with 2.46.
- The Gamecocks are one of the worst serving teams statistically, with just 1.01 aces per set, the 337th-ranked team in NCAA DI.
- Libero Lilly Gillespie ranks 85th in the country with 4.15 digs per set.
- Olivia Borgman leads South Carolina with 245 kills, hitting .191 this season.
SERIES HISTORY
- Auburn has won three of the previous four matchups against South Carolina
- The Gamecocks lead the all-time series against Auburn, 22-31.
- The Tigers are looking for their 10th home victory over South Carolina. Auburn is 9-14 overall on the Plains against South Carolina.
- Auburn won last season's match against South Carolina in four sets. After the Gamecocks won the opening set, Auburn responded to win three sets straight and win the match 21-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-17.
- Current assistant coach Liz Markovska led Auburn with 18 kills and just two errors on 30 attempts to hit .533 in a 13-dig double-double performance.
- Havlicek led the Tigers last season with five blocks against South Carolina.
A NEW LOOK OFFENSE
- Kate Mansfield made the switch to pin hitter from middle blocker ahead of Auburn's match at Texas on Oct. 16. Mansfield primarily plays on the right side when Anastasija Ivkovic rotates into the back row.
- This move 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.
- For two rotations, the switch pairs Mansfield with Havlicek, the Tigers' two top blockers.
- In SEC play, notable splits before and after moving Mansfield to the pins include:
- Hitting Percentage: .153 ›› .240
- Kills per set: 10.95 ›› 12.78
- Assists per set: 10.20 ›› 11.96
- Points per set: 14.10 ›› 16.48
- Blocks per set: 2.05 ›› 2.59
UP NEXT
- The Tigers hit the road for the final two matches of the regular season. Auburn visits Alabama for an 8 p.m. match on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Wednesday's match against the Crimson Tide will be televised on SEC Network. The Tigers then close the SEC season at Mississippi State on Nov. 15 at 2 p.m.
—War Eagle—