AUBURN, Ala. – For the third time this season, Madison Scheer powered down 18 kills as Auburn (14-11, 4-10) battled tough all night with No. 20 Florida (20-5, 11-3) inside Neville Arena. It wasn’t quite enough, though, as the Tigers fell in four sets, 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 25-20, 25-21).
From the get-go, Auburn and Florida were locked in a tight battle. It wasn’t until the media timeout midway through the first set that either team owned a lead larger than two.
For head coach Brent Crouch and the Tigers, it was a little bit of everything. Scheer paced the group with four kills while Bella Bell and Bel Zimmerman each collected three apiece as well.
In the back row, Alexis Dacosta was seemingly everywhere, running down eight digs. Zimmerman and Chelsey McCurdy also picked up blocks as the Orange and Blue hung tough.
Dacosta would finish the night with 15 digs, marking the 12th time this season the junior has tallied 15 or more digs.
The Gators found the right buttons to press late, however, hitting north of .300 and collecting three blocks of their own to take the opening frame.
Despite rolling out to a slow start in set two, the Tigers were determined to make it a tough match for the visitors. Starting setter Peyton Dunn spread the wealth around as Lauren Dreves, Scheer and Zimmerman all piled up three kills during the frame.
It was Auburn’s serving that packed the biggest punch. Scheer struck for two aces while Dunn and Bell Humphry each added one of their own. Forcing Florida out of rotation, the Gators hit only .209 in the second set.
Auburn drew as close as 23-22 but two quick points from the Gators gave them a commanding lead, 2-0.
Dunn and co. had found momentum in the second set and quickly carried it over to the third. Scheer swung for five more kills. The Eureka, Missouri product would finish with 18, tying her season-high.
The offense as a whole managed a match-best .382 hitting percentage in the third set, leading to a resounding, 25-20, set win and stretching the match into the fourth.
With the offense clicking at full gear, the Tigers were matching point for point throughout the fourth set. The Orange and Blue block also returned as Zimmerman and McCurdy each notched a pair of rejections while Scheer, Dreves and Bell snagged one each.
Florida, and Kennedy Martin in particular, were just too much for the Tigers to stop. One last burst from the gators handed them the set and the match, 3-1.
MATCH NOTES
- Madison Scheer tied her season-high with 18 kills
- Scheer’s three aces were a career-best for the junior
- Lauren Dreves (11 digs) reached double digits for the 15th time this season
- Fallan Lanham (11 digs) reached double digits in back-to-back matches
- Peyton Dunn’s 36 assists were a season-high
- Bel Zimmerman (11 kills) reached double digits for the 16th time this season
- Alexis Dacosta (19 digs) reached double digits for the 19th time in 2024
WHAT CROUC HAD TO SAY
Opening Statement…
“Again, I thought we saw a ton of positives today. For two matches in a row now, I thought we served close to the level that we needed to, parts of our offense looked really good and we proved that we can go toe-to-toe with anyone. We, as a coaching staff, just have to figure out how to do it consistently over the course of an entire match. There are two matches left on our schedule and they are two opportunities to prove to ourselves how good we are.”
On the 2025 senior class…
“I want to take the time to thank the four seniors we honored here tonight. Paige Thibault, Bella Bell, Chelsey McCurdy and Fallan Lanham. Each of them has been a vital piece of what we’re doing here at Auburn. The program would certainly not be where it is, with the expectation it has, without them. They have raised the bar here to a place that people never thought was possible. I’m grateful to have coached them and I know they all will be extremely successful beyond the volleyball court in their future careers.”