Auburn, Ala—This weekend is set to be a great weekend in the world of Auburn Athletics: from equestrian to soccer, and from football to volleyball the Auburn Tiger’s game schedule is packed. The crowning jewel of this weekend is Auburn Women’s Volleyball has a home double-header.
After coming off a loss against No. 12 Tennessee, No. 23 Auburn is going to be searching for victories this weekend against Missouri and South Carolina. If Auburn can pull off two wins this weekend, they would reach 6-3 in the SEC, 16-4 overall, and potentially jump Texas A&M in SEC rankings to be fourth overall in the SEC.
Wins this weekend would also make head coach Brett Crouch the fastest Auburn Volleyball coach to reach 50 wins. However, none of the impressive achievements can come without wins this weekend, so Auburn must focus on the games this weekend to reach these achievements.
For Auburn to reach these impressive achievements, their top players need to be ready for anything that both Missouri and South Carolina will throw at them, especially since the turnaround between games is going to be short.
Auburn Players to Watch: Akasha Anderson & Kendal Kemp
For Auburn to emerge victorious this weekend, their offense and defense must be at the top of their game. To do this, both Akasha Anderson for the offense and Kendal Kemp for the defense need to have great games.
Akasha Anderson leads Auburn in kills, coming into this weekend with 221 kills on the season, in addition, she has 19 service aces, second only to Bel Zimmerman, for the offense. If a double-header victory is going to happen this weekend, Akasha Anderson needs to be on top of her game so that Auburn can rely on her consistent offensive play during both matches.
On the defensive side of the ball, Kendal Kemp is going to be the player to watch for Auburn. Kemp leads the Auburn defense with 77 blocks on the season, and that includes being out for some of the season with an injury. Kendal Kemp is a reliable and consistent player on Auburn’s defense, and she needs to keep up the consistency to help Auburn on their way to victory this weekend.
Missouri Players to Watch: Sierra Dudley & Morgan Isenberg
When looking at Auburn’s first of two matches this weekend, no two players stick out more for Auburn to focus on than Sierra Dudley and Morgan Isenberg.
On the offensive side of Missouri Volleyball, Sierra Dudley leads the team with 700 assists on the season, which is 83 percent of total assists from the Missouri team. For Auburn to defeat Missouri they want to watch out for attacks that are set up by Sierra Dudley, as she is the main playmaker for Missouri.
In terms of Missouri’s defensive play, no player sticks out more than Morgan Isenberg. Isenberg has 89 blocks on the season, 65 percent of Missouri’s total block count, and double the amount of the next-highest blocker on the Missouri team, Jordan Iliff. Auburn is certainly going to have to work around Isenberg to score points to defeat Missouri.
South Caroline Players to Watch: Riley Whitesides & Oby Anadi
In terms of Auburn’s second match this weekend against South Carolina, Riley Whitesides and Oby Anadi is the players Auburn should focus on to emerge victorious against South Carolina.
When looking at South Carolina’s offense no player sticks out more than Riley Whitesides who leads South Carolina in kills, 175 on the season, and service aces, 12 on the season. Auburn is certainly going to want to watch for attacks and serves coming from Whitesides considering her dominance on South Carolina’s offense.
Looking at South Carolina’s defense, Oby Anadi leads the team in blocks with 86 on the season, which is just over 50 percent of all blocks coming from South Carolina. If Auburn wants to score points against South Carolina, working around Oby Anadi is probably the best way to go.
Overall this weekend will be exciting for Auburn volleyball, as Auburn faces off against Missouri on Friday, October 19 at 6 p.m. CT on the SEC Network or listen live on WEGL 91.1 FM. Following Auburn’s match against Missouri, they face off against South Carolina on Sunday, October 21 at 1 p.m. CT on SECN+.
