AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn Tigers picked up a hard-fought four-set victory (25-19, 15-25, 29-27, 25-22) over the Alabama Crimson Tide in front of a record 3,082 fans Sunday afternoon, remaining undefeated in SEC play (2-0) and moving to 12-1 on the season overall.
The Tigers were coming off their biggest win of the year—perhaps even in the program's history—after beating Kentucky for the first time in 14 years. Alabama was coming off a three-game losing streak. It would have been very easy for the Tigers to overlook the Tide, but they stayed poised.
All season long, freshmen have been surprising the Auburn faithful, and tonight you can add another name to that long list: Lakin Laurendine. The redshirt freshman had the best game of her young career. Despite only playing in three of the four sets, she tied Bella Bell for the most kills with 12. Defensively, she added 10 digs and also recorded an ace.
The Tigers' defensive wall remained strong, recording 11 blocks to extend their double-digit block streak to five games. The Tigers average over three blocks per game, which is not only the best in the SEC but also the 9th best mark in the country.
It wasn’t just blocks that defined the defensive performance. Freshman phenom Lakin Laurendine picked up her first career double-double, tallying 10 digs to go along with her 12 kills. Junior Alexis Dacosta recorded 15 digs of her own, marking her ninth game this season with double-digit digs.
Despite the victory, Coach Crouch was not ecstatic with today’s performance. He said, “We played kind of medium today.” However, Crouch did acknowledge the significance of the Iron Bowl, stating, “When you’re playing Alabama, it doesn’t really matter if they’re good or bad; it’s just a meaningful match. So to get out with a win, I’m happy with that.”
Auburn hosts Georgia this upcoming Friday, October 4. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. CT, and the match will be streamed on SECN, with a radio call on WEGL 91.1 FM in conjunction with the Auburn Sports Network.
