AUBURN, Ala. – Looking to get back into the win column, head coach Brent Crouch and the Auburn Tigers (14-5, 4-4) head to Columbia, South Carolina to face the Gamecocks (11-6, 2-4) inside the Carolina Volleyball Center on Sunday, Oct. 27.
First serve is set for 1 p.m. CT and the match will be streamed live on SEC Network Plus.
QUICK HITS
Junior outside hitter Madison Scheer is just three kills away from securing 1,000 for her prolific career in the Orange and Blue. Scheer would become just the 16th player in program history to accomplish the feat and the seventh player to do so in the rally-scoring era. The last Tiger to join the 1,000-kill club was Brenna McIlroy (2015-18).
Scheer has been as steady as they come on the outside. The Eureka, Missouri product tallied 12 kills against LSU and has reached double-digit kill totals in 13 straight matches.
Fellow left side Lauren Dreves found her groove on Friday against LSU. The freshman from Vancouver, Washington notched a team-high 14 kills on an impressive .324 hitting percentage, finishing just one kill shy of tying her career-best.
Graduate middle blocker Chelsey McCurdy also enjoyed offensive success on Friday. Swinging for 10 kills on .421, McCurdy was just one kill shy of tying her season-high. It was also the most kills for the Washington native since Auburn's win over then-No. 12 Kentucky on Sept. 27.
Fallan Lanham's elite serving has taken new heights over the last couple of matches. The senior defensive specialist recorded two aces on Friday against LSU. Lanham has recorded multiple aces in three straight matches, including a season-high three against Tennessee.
Earning her first start of her collegiate career, Jasmine Okeoma delivered a career-best three blocks and two kills.
Led by McCurdy and Okeoma, the Auburn blocking unit continues to pace the Southeastern Conference. With nine more blocks on Friday against LSU, the Tigers now have totaled 190.0 for the season. The Orange and Blue are also averaging north of 2.6 blocks per set, the second most in the SEC.
LAST TIME OUT
Lauren Dreves and Madison Scheer combined for 26 kills on .324 hitting while Chelsey McCurdy added 10 kills and five blocks. The total wasn't enough, however, to outlast LSU as Auburn dropped just its second match inside Neville Arena this season.
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
Tom Mendoza enters his seventh season at the helm of the South Carolina Volleyball program. Mendoza and the Gamecocks enter Sunday's contest with an 11-6 overall record in 2024 with a conference mark of 2-4. Despite losses to Mississippi State, Georgia and Ole Miss, USC does boast impressive wins over Florida and Oklahoma.
Offensively, the Gamecocks rely heavily on the play of outside hitter Riley Whitesides. The Greenville, South Carolina product averages an impressive 4.44 kills per set, the fourth-best mark in the SEC and No. 17 in the country. Junior Alayna Johnson has stepped her game up as well, contributing 2.97 kills per set.
Libero Victoria Harris has carried over her stellar play from a year ago. Averaging 4.15 digs per set, Harris ranks fourth in the SEC and top 100 in the nation.
AUBURN-SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES
Auburn enters Sunday's matchup with a 21-30 record against the Gamecocks, including a 12-15 mark inside the Carolina Volleyball Center. The two programs have provided fans with thrilling matchups over the past two seasons. Each of the last three contests have gone the full five sets. The Tigers have won two of those matches.