AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn Tigers (14-5) lose their third straight as the LSU Tigers (12-7) pull off the upset in Neville Arena, 3-1. This loss marks Auburn’s fourth loss in their last five games, and they now fall to 4-4 in SEC play.
In a match where Auburn was heavily favored, LSU dominated, led by sophomore star Jurnee Robinson who finished the match with 26 kills, two short of her season high. The Tigers in purple and gold outscored Auburn 50-37 through the first two sets. Auburn, whose hallmark powerhouse defense has held opponents to a hitting percentage of .171, allowed a typically poor-hitting LSU offense to pile on 59 kills on a .297 hitting percentage.
The first set established the tone for the unfortunate, error-ridden match that would await Auburn. LSU would go on several 4-0 runs due to strong serving and a takeover from SEC kill leader Jurnee Robinson. Although Auburn stayed on top for the first half of the set, a kill from Robinson followed by two service aces stole all momentum. Four aces and four blocks would round out the dominant eight-point first-set victory for LSU.
Set two saw a comical amount of errors from both squads. LSU finished with four service errors and Auburn with a whopping seven. Throughout the set, three separate occasions saw back to back to back points from errors. Auburn's typically stellar defense did step up, cutting down on allowed kills. However, it was not enough to cover for the overall sloppy play. Auburn kept it much closer, but would still fall 20-25.
A large shift in momentum occurred in set three, one in favor of Auburn. The previous errors from the first two sets were cleaned up significantly, and the offensive onslaught from Jurnee Robinson was brought to a halt, as she was held to two kills. Star freshman Lauren Dreves had an outstanding third set, with five kills and a block assist that revitalized the energy for the Tigers. Graduate senior Chelsey McCurdy rounded out the all-around team performance with three straight kills, going up 25-20 to take Auburn’s first set of the match.
Unfortunately, a valiant effort from Auburn in the fourth set wasn’t enough to complete a comeback. Auburn was once again able to score consistently and their errors were cut down to just three in the set. However, Jurnee Robinson would once again put on an offensive clinic. Despite the set being tied at 21-21, LSU’s defense stiffened when it mattered most to close out the match, 21-25.
The loss for Auburn comes with poor timing, as college volleyball heads into the final stretch of the season. Despite the negatives, there are still plenty of things for the Tigers to build upon. Lauren Dreves and Chelsey McCurdy had solid outings, and junior outside hitter Madison Scheer is only three kills away from the 1,000th of her career.
With plenty to build off of, Auburn will look to right its wrongs on Sunday, October 27th when they travel to to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks. First serve in Columbia will be at 1:00 p.m. and will be streamed on SECN with radio coverage on WEGL 91.1 FM in conjuction with the Auburn Sports Network.
