AUBURN, Ala. - After a five set heartbreaker against the Florida Gators, Auburn Volleyball is right back in action Sunday afternoon, welcoming the Ole Miss Rebels to Neville Arena.
While the Tigers may have come up short, there is no doubt that the program is riding some historic momentum. After hosting a crowd of 2,393, the third largest volleyball crowd in Auburn's history, Auburn hopes for more of the same on Sunday afternoon.
Their opponents are coming in fresh off a 3-0 sweep of the Alabama Crimson Tide in Oxford. There, the Rebels saw strong performances from Sophomore outside hitter Vivian Miller and Senior middle blocker Payton Brgoch. The pair was extremely efficient, earning .385 and .400 hitting percentages respectively and will be a threat when they take the floor on Sunday.
The Rebels also feature sound defensive play, tallying 10 blocks while only committing 6 service errors in their last match. As they travel to Auburn, a team with 148 service errors this season., they will look to take advantage of Tiger missteps.
When Ole Miss visits the Plains on Sunday afternoon, they’ll be met by a Tigers squad looking to limit service errors and find opportunities to raise their hitting percentage, which sat under .200 on Friday night. Key players for the Tigers will be Sophomore pin hitter Akasha Anderson who is coming off her lowest hitting percentage of the year, and Senior setter Jackie Barrett who was a team leader in her performance against Florida, racking up 40 assists and 10 digs.
An Auburn team who has been plagued with injuries will likely once again be without Senior middle blocker Bella Bell. The team will look to rely on their depth at the net and focus on distributing the ball evenly to both pins in her absence.
After a passionate performance against the Gators, it is crucial that the Tigers stay locked in on their SEC matchup with Ole Miss. The importance of this match cannot be understated as the team looks to win their first contest in SEC play this year.
First serve will be at 2pm Sunday afternoon and will broadcast live on WEGL 91.1 FM and SECN+.
