AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn volleyball opens its season today in the War Eagle Invitational, an Auburn-hosted mini tournament that this season welcomes North Alabama, Georgia Southern, and Wofford to Neville Arena. The Tigers will look to use the invitational as an opportunity to get off on the right foot this season and build on a 20-10 (10-8 SEC) 2023 season that ended in an NCAA Tournament berth.
This year’s squad also has plenty of returning talent from that 2023 team, headlined by standout junior hitter Madison Scheer, who last season became just the second player in program history to be awarded AVCA National Player of the Week. Scheer is joined by hitter Bella Bell, who was 3rd on last year’s squad in just about every offensive statistic while listed as a middle blocker. Graduate middle blocker Chelsey McCurdy (formerly Chelsey Harmon) and junior hitter Bel Zimmerman also return after playing important impacts last season.
However, not everyone is back. The transfer portal was not kind to Auburn this past offseason, with major contributors Kendall Kemp, Sarah Morton, Akasha Anderson, and Jackie Barrett all leaving the plains to find new homes. The departure of Barrett leaves a particularly large hole, as the Tigers lack other experience at the setter position, which is now expected to be filled by redshirt junior Payton Dunn and true freshman Kalei Edson.
It is not all doom and gloom for Auburn when it comes to the transfer portal. The Tigers added Baylor standout Libero Alexis Dacosta in the transfer window, and the junior should be a mainstay for Brent Crouch’s squad. Auburn also added two high-quality true freshmen that are expected to play impacts right away: Alabama native Emma Moore to shore up the Middle Blocker position and Vancouver, WA’s Lauren Dreves to step into Akasha Anderson’s Pin Hitter role.
The two freshmen will have an immediate chance to show coach Brent Crouch what they can do this weekend, as Auburn will play three games over two days. The first, vs Northern Alabama, will begin at 10 AM. The second Friday game will begin at 7, as Auburn takes on the Georgia Southern Eagles. Finally, on Saturday, the Tigers will take on the Wofford Terriers at 1 PM. Broadcasts for all three games can be found on WEGL 91.1 FM and the Auburn Sports Network.
