As Auburn Volleyball sweeps Alabama, Crouch records victory number 150.
AUBURN, Alabama In front of a boisterous
crowd on Wednesday night, Auburn (20-8, 10-7) handled business, defeating Alabama (10-18, 0-17) 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-18) to earn head coach Brent Crouch his 150th career victory.
The Orange and Blue succeeded from the first serve in forcing the Crimson Tide out of the system, which was the intended outcome. Throughout the frame, Jackie Barrett, Fallan Lanham, Kyla Swanson, and Chelsey Harmon all had strong runs.
It was Swanson’s aggression, though, that spurred a 7-0 run and Crouch’s crew never looked back.
A balanced attack saw Madison Scheer put down four kills on nine swings with just one error. Meanwhile, Akasha Anderson found four of her own on 13 attempts.
Defensively, Sophomore Kendal Kemp put up an early wall to grab two quick blocks, reaching 300 for her career. The Eagan, Minnesota native is now just the eighth Tiger in program history to eclipse 300.
The Tigers won the first set 25-14 thanks to their strong defense, excellent passing, serving runs, and general offensive skill.
There was more of the same in Frame No. 2. Swanson scored three of her five kills in the second set, while Scheer and Anderson combined for an additional eight kills.
But in the back row, it was Sarah Morton who really brought the house down. In the penultimate set, the sophomore from Munster, Indiana, racked up seven kills. She would end up with 19 total digs, a whopping 6.33 on average per set.
Auburn took a commanding 2-0 lead thanks to three more momentum-swinging blocks from Anderson, Scheer, Bella Bell, and Swanson.
Barrett and the offensive unit saved their best for last. With the team hitting.306 in the third set, Anderson was the primary beneficiary of the strong attack, swatting seven additional kills with his swing. With 10 steals and 15 points for the game, Anderson recorded her eighth double-double of the year.
The Tigers held Alabama to just.103 hitting even though they did not end with an ace in the last frame. Anderson delivered the game-winning blow, completing the sweep of the in-state rival, with Lanham at the service line. Now, Auburn has defeated the Crimson Tide seven times in a row.
