AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn volleyball hit .322 and blocked South Carolina 11 times in just three sets, sailing past the Gamecocks en route to a 25-23, 25-16, 25-19 victory on senior day. The Tigers (14-11, 4-9 SEC) recorded their second-best attack percentage in SEC play with 41 kills and just 12 errors on 90 attempts. South Carolina (9-14, 2-11 SEC) only managed 33 kills, tied for the least by an SEC opponent this season.
Juniors Belle Patrick and Grace Havlicek were the standout Tigers, leading the team in kills and blocks, respectively. However, the seniors each made their impact on the match. Eden Bower had four blocks, five digs, and a pair of kills. Shanelle Puetz led Auburn again as the sole setter in a 5-1 system with 28 assists, eight digs, two kills, and a block. Symone Sims had seven digs, two assists, and a pair of aces, including a service ace on the match-clinching point.
Auburn used a five-point run early in the opening set to force a South Carolina timeout at 8-4. The Tigers preserved their four-point lead through the media timeout, expanding the lead to six with a Patrick kill and Puetz ace. The Gamecocks closed in on the Tigers, tying the set at 21-21 using a 7-2 run to do so and forcing Auburn's second timeout of the set. Auburn won three of four points out of the timeout to serve for set point, winning the set two points later, 25-23. Auburn hit .400 in the set with 16 kills on 30 attacks. Patrick drove the offense in the set with seven kills on 11 attacks. Defensively, Havlicek stuffed the Gamecock attack three times.
South Carolina took a 5-2 lead to open the set, holding onto its lead until three consecutive Auburn points gave the Tigers their first lead of the set at 10-9, forcing a Gamecock timeout. Patrick continued her prominence through the early portion of the second set with a pair of kills in the three-point run. The Tigers went on a 5-1 run into the media timeout, to lead 15-11 following a Havlicek-Anastasija Ivkovic block. The Tigers went on a five-point run with Havlicek serving, including back-to-back blocks by Bower and Emma Moore to force South Carolina's second timeout at 19-12. The Tiger lead would grow to nine before the Gamecocks ended Havlicek's run. Auburn kept its distance through the remainder of the set, winning on a South Carolina service error, 25-16. The Tiger attack outperformed its first set numbers, hitting .474 with 12 kills on just 19 attacks.
The Tigers opened the third set on an 8-2 run, feeding off Gamecock errors and a pair of kills by Kate Mansfield. South Carolina fought back to pull within three points, but Auburn responded with four straight points, including a pair of Patrick kills, a Sims ace, and a Moore kill. The Tigers took a 15-8 lead into the media timeout. The Gamecocks won five straight points out of the media timeout to pull within two points. Auburn opened its lead back up to four with a Bower-Havlicek block and an Ivkovic kill to force South Carolina's second timeout of the period at 20-16. The Tigers won the match on an ace by Sims.
NOTABLES
- Auburn hit .429 as a team in the opening two sets.
- Havlicek passed Chelsey Harmon-McCurdy and Camila Jeronsky for the ninth-most total blocks in the 25-point rally era with 108.
- Havlicek tied her own mark from last season with 102 block assists, the ninth-most block assists in the 25-point rally era.
- Patrick has recorded double-digit kills in seven consecutive matches, extending the longest streak of the season by any Tiger.
- Mansfield set a career high with eight digs.
- Bower tied her career high with five digs.
STANDOUT TIGERS
- Patrick led the Tigers with 15 kills, hitting .355 with a .484 kill percentage.
- Havlicek led Auburn with seven total blocks. Havlicek has averaged 1.81 blocks per set across the previous four matches. Havlicek had five kills on 10 attempts.
- Ivkovic had the second-most kills for Auburn with seven to go with her four blocks.
- Moore was perfect on the night with four kills on four swings, plus blocks.
- Puetz had 28 assists, eight digs, two kills, an ace, and a block.
- Bower joined the block party with four to go with her five digs and two kills.
HEAD COACH BRENT CROUCH
- "We played clean volleyball for the majority of the match today. We opened the first set strong, but ultimately let them climb back into it. Then from there on, we never gave them an open door. We cleaned up the service errors from early on. All around, very happy with how smooth we looked, especially in the final two sets. So happy to see our seniors each make contributions to the win. They've all worked so hard throughout their careers and this season, so to see each of them be rewarded on their night was special."
UP NEXT
- The Tigers are on the road for the final two matches of the regular season. Auburn plays its first midweek match of the SEC season, taking on Alabama at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Wednesday's match will be televised on SEC Network. Auburn will finish the regular season on Sunday, Nov. 15, at Mississippi State.
—War Eagle—