AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn Volleyball (2-0) saw a little bit of everything on Friday at the Panther Invitational.
After sweeping Belmont, 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-19), the Tigers went toe-to-toe with a scrappy Georgia State team and a boisterous crowd to keep its perfect record intact with a 3-1 (22-25, 26-24, 30-28, 26-24) win.
VS. BELMONT
Auburn waited more than 250 days to suit up and play volleyball again and once the team shook off the first-game jitters, head coach Brent Crouch's squad went right down to business, sweeping Belmont, 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-19).
The Bruins led by as many as four in the opening frame and carried a 16-12 lead midway through the first set. However, a service error and two quick kills from senior Rebekah Rath and freshman Akasha Anderson forced a timeout and swung the momentum back in favor of the Orange and Blue.
Powered by four kills from Rath and two blocks apiece from the senior, Chelsey Harmon, Jackie Barrett and Kendal Kemp, Auburn quickly took control down the stretch. In fact, it was Harmon's and Barrett's thunderous block that sealed the team's early lead.
Freshman Kendal Kemp's big day wasn't quite done, however. Two kills and five more block assists helped propel the Tigers to a 13-0 run in the second set.
Kemp ended the morning with nine total blocks, matching the program record for most blocks in a three-set match.
Fellow youngsters Madison Scheer and Akasha Anderson also jumped in the fray. Anderson's three kills in the second stanza led Auburn while Scheer followed up with two along with Kemp and Rath.
Scheer would lead the squad with a .467 hitting percentage, securing eight kills.
As the Tigers' serve-receive kept improving throughout the match so to did the pace at which Auburn began to score. Zoe Slaughter dialed up back-to-back aces as the Tiger raced out to a 9-1 lead in the third set.
Slaughter also finished the match second in digs with 11 behind another freshman in Sarah Morton (15).
In total, Auburn freshmen were responsible for 17 kills, 29 digs, 11 blocks and two aces.
Rath cranked up the pressure in the final set, grabbing five kills. The Altamonte Springs, Florida native would finish as the only Tiger in double figures with 11 as Auburn closed out the third to earn the sweep.
VS. GEORGIA STATE
Eyeing a perfect start to 2022, the Tigers powered through a scrappy match inside GSU Sports arena, handling the Panthers in three straight deuce-set to earn the 3-1 win (22-25, 26-24, 30-28, 26-24).
Back-to-back kills from Rath had the Tigers in the flow of things early but stout serving and an energetic crowd fueled the Panthers to an early five-point lead in the opening set.
Akasha Anderson added six kills in the first set to go along with Rath's five as Auburn continued to rally late in the first.
While Sarah Morton's aced pulled the Tigers within a point, forcing a timeout from Georgia State, the home side ultimately closed out the set, 25-22, to take the early lead.
Aggressive serving allowed Auburn to keep the Panthers at arm's length in the second. Multiple aces from both Kendal Kemp and Fallan Lanham gave the Orange and Blue a four-point lead midway through the set.
Kemps added to her impressive debut in a Tiger uniform. The 6-6 middle blocker isn't just limited to front-row duties. Along with her aces, Kemp's serving stacked up three straight points, extending her team's lead.
Despite the Panthers forcing extra points, Rath's eleventh kill of the evening brought the matchup even at one set apiece.
When Lanham came back to the service line in the third set, not even the Panther pep band was going to distract her from piling up the points. The Kentucky native sandwiched another ace in the middle of seven serves in a row in a run that saw Auburn extend its lead to five.
A late run from Georgia State pushed things into extra points for the second straight set but Crouch's resilient youngsters rallied through.
Trading blows back and forth, it was a Kemp/Rath block followed by Kemp's third kill of the set to claim the lead, 2-1.
While it was evident the Panthers weren't going away quietly, neither was this Auburn squad.
Again, it was Rath along with a healthy dose of freshman flashes to keep the Tigers within striking distance. Rath showcased why she led the SEC in kills per set a season ago, hitting an even .300 and claiming a match-high 25 kills
Kemp capped off her day with her third ace of the match and a pair of kills to push her team over the edge.
For the third straight set, two programs needed extra points to decide the victory and for the third straight time, Auburn answered the call, finishing off the match with a 26-24 effort.
MATCH NOTES
- Sarah Morton led the team in digs with 15 against Belmont
- Rebekah Rath finished as the only Tiger with a double-figure kill total with 11 against Belmont
- Kendal Kemp matched the program record for blocks in a three-set match with 9 versus Belmont
- Brent Crouch starts the season with a sweep, and 2-0, for the second consecutive season
- Rebekah Rath tallied a season-high 25 kills against Georgia State
- Jordan Sinness claimed Auburn's first double-double of the season with 42 assists and 11 digs
- Sarah Morton and Zoe each reach double-digit dig totals in both matches
- Bel Zimmerman grabbed eight kills, hitting .467 in her Auburn debut
CROUCH'S COMMENTS
"We had four freshmen start against Belmont with a totally new lineup. I expected there to be some growing pains and there were but it was nice when everyone started settling down. It was pretty much everything that I wanted out of the first match to get the jitters out and get the win.
"In the Georgia State match, that team played well and they were fired up. Very fun crowd and a good band to play in front of. They did some things that we're not used to quite yet. Between spin serves and a fast offense, those were two challenges for us that we were able to play against. To pull out the win in deuce sets is a really big deal. We have such a young team and it's such a good confidence booster for everyone.
On Kendal Kemp's big day…
"Her serving has improved so much since day one. At some point, I truly believe she'll be one of the best servers in the SEC. I really liked how she stepped up towards the end of the last match. We finally go some balls closer to the net and she got some kills and made a big difference."