AUBURN, Ala. - After dropping the first set of the season, Auburn went on to win the next nine sets in the War Eagle Invitational to start the season 3-0. This is the third straight season that the Tigers have started 3-0.
In game one, Coppin State took the first frame 24-26, but it was all Auburn for the next three as they won 25-17, 25-15 and 25-18.
“First match of the year and we clearly had some jitters in that opening set. It was nice to see everyone settle down as the match went on,” said Auburn head coach Brent Crouch.
The Tigers’ starting lineup included four newcomers in Bella Bell, Kyla Swanson, Peyton Dunn and Paige Thibault
“I was glad to see them play well tonight,” Crouch said. “Obviously, I don't know them as well so I wanted to get them out there early and I thought they all performed well. We got what we wanted out of the match. We got to see people play at a high level and we got the win.”
Bell was playing on the right side for the first time in her career for her Auburn debut and it is safe to say it was successful, as Bell racked up 14 kills on a hitting percentage of .480.
“She's got a great arm and if she was in the middle we just weren't going to get her the ball as much as we needed to,” said Crouch.
Sarah Morton recorded 24 digs and Akasha Anderson called game with her 16 kills of the night, sending the Tigers to victory.
In game two, Auburn knocked the dust off the brooms for their first sweep of the season against McNeese State, taking the first to sets 25-15 and 25-22 in the third set.
Anderson was doing it all for the Tigers in this one, leading the team in kills (14), attacks (35), digs (8) and aces (4). The four service aces tied Anderson’s career high.
Jackie Barrett set up the Auburn offense notching 31 of the Tigers’ 37 assists. Kendal Kemp notched Auburn’s only two solo blocks, as well as recording three assisted blocks.
In the final game of the War Eagle Invitational, Auburn walked away with their third win of the season in an in-state matchup against Jacksonville State. The Tigers took this one in three sets as well, winning those sets, 25-12, 25-11 and thrilling 26-24 final set.
Bell shined in this for Auburn recording nine kills on just 12 swings. The Kentucky transfer also notched two assisted blocks.
Anderson recorded ten kills against the Gamecocks on 23 attacks, resulting in a .391 hit percentage. Anderson had double digit kills in all three games for the Tigers.
Dunn and Barret racked up the assists for Auburn, combining for 30 of the Tigers 37 assists. Dunn, a transfer from Oklahoma, has recorded 59 assists so far this season. Barrett notched 45 in the invitational
Auburn will look to continue success as they travel down to Tallahassee for the Seminole Invitational where they will take on SMU on Saturday and FSU on Sunday. Both games will start at noon central.
