AUBURN, Ala. – Backs against the wall, down to the last set, No. 23 Auburn (15-5, 5-4) was able to pull out a crucial victory against South Carolina (8-10, 2-7) in front a full crowd at Neville Arena (25-22, 19-25, 25-24, 24-26, 17-15).]
“Really gutsy performance,” Auburn head coach Brent Crouch said. “We’ve got a lot of challenges right now health-wise. We talked about it before the match. I told them I really believe in this team, and I believe in how they lift each other up and compete hard in practice all the way down through the roster. I knew that we were going to play really hard and for each other. That’s what they did. It wasn’t perfect all the time, but it was really good in enough stretches to get the win.”
Despite offensive woes at times, the Tigers has multiple members show out.
Jackie Barrett led the team in assists at 47, which jumps the California native into fifth all time for assist in program history. The senior also recorded a team-leading 11th double-double for the season.
Paige Thibault would down the libero role again due to injury. The transfer from FIU notched career-high 21 digs for the Tigers, nine of which came in the first set.
“Ultimately, I think it came back to the relationships on this team,” Thibault said. “It wasn’t just me out there doing that, it was everyone around me, believing in me. Like coach said, we had a lot of kids step up tonight. I don’t want to put the spotlight on myself but give everyone the glory they deserve because they helped me do what I needed to do to fulfill that role and that job.”
Even with going into extra points I n the final two sets of the match, the third set raised most eyebrows, as Auburn would mount a comeback from 8-1 down to ultimately taking the crucial set by a score of 25-24.
Akasha Anderson and Madison Sheer led the way in the third set with a combined six kills. Anderson captured a fifth double-double of the year, while Sheer went on to finish with a career-high 24 kills.
Heading into the final set it was now or never for the Tigers. The transfer duo of Kyla Swanson and Bella Bell showed out on the defensive side of the ball with four blocks each in the closing set. Swanson finished with a career-high 11 blocks, and Bell added six more to the Tiger total.
The Tigers would rally yet again in the final set and Kendell Kemp set the Gamecocks home, rejecting the final attack.
Auburn picks up its 15th win of the year and Crouch secures win 50 on The Plains, becoming the fastest to accomplish the feat in the rally-scoring era.
The Blue & Orange will be back in action in Athens, Georgia, Friday against the Georgia Bulldogs. The teams will take to the court at 6:00 p.m. CT with broadcasting provided on SECN+.
