The Auburn Tigers enter conference play as the only one-loss team in the SEC. Wednesday night in the Auburn Arena, the Tigers welcome the undefeated Ole Miss Rebels to the Plains. The game will be broadcast locally on WEGL 91.1 FM with Jacob Hillman and Aidan Kowalski on the call for an 8 p.m. first serve.
Ole Miss leads the series all-time 35-31 against the Tigers and haven’t lost inside the Auburn Arena since 2018 when the two teams played to begin conference play that season. Head Coach Brent Crouch enters the match personally a half game below .500 and will face another second-year head coach in program, Kayla Banwarth. Both teams hold he top two positions in conference play making Wednesdays match a battle for first.
The Tigers are coming off a series win in the Auburn Invitational last week with Bella Rosenthal earning SEC Defensive Player of the Week for a second consecutive time. Rosenthal leads the conference with 5.59 digs/set and has recorded double digit digs in every match this season. The defense for Auburn has been the glue for Coach Crouch in his decision to move Tatum Shipes front and center to which she has excelled. Shipes leads the team in blocks/set and is an integral piece to the team being ranked 17th nationally in that category recording a 2.78 blocks/set average. Auburn more notably ranks second among all Division I in holding their opponents to a .097 hitting percentage.
The Rebels come into the match atop the SEC rankings with an 11-0 record and have won every first set they’ve played. Ole Miss has proven to be one of the best offensive teams this season posting a .300 hitting percentage lead by Junior Anna Blair averaging 3.57 kills/set. Ironic as it sounds, the Rebels feel right at home in away matches this season playing 8/11 matches away from the Gillom Athletics Performance Center.
Auburn has won eight of their last 10 matches against Ole Miss and look to claim their first win of conference season Wednesday night. There are three other SEC matches happening that night and will be capped by the Tigers and Rebels at 8 p.m.
